Wu Hao had underestimated just how much Jin Qilong wasn't fit for this. The clan heir hesitated when he shouldn't and fell for every trap, not because he didn't realize they were traps but because he overthought. When he struck he didn't commit, and when he did commit he overcommitted himself.

  Jin Qilong was, in short, kind of a disaster. For the first time, when Wu Hao thought of Jin Qilong's tutors he felt a trace of pity.

  The first time, Jin Qilong's saber had been smashed out of his hands. He'd taken a few slashes to the arms - shallow ones, but they bled hard - and the instructor had declared it a victory for Zhu Yelin.

  The second time, he'd warned Jin Qilong about the style that Zhu Yelin used, and that time Jin Qilong had been successful enough that he'd managed to actually withstand the blow that'd knocked him down the first time. That was good. It'd remained a stalemate afterwards, though, and once Jin Qilong had ceded the pace then he seemed incapable of getting it back.

  In both cases, Jin Qilong had looked so utterly crushed by his defeat that Wu Hao sincerely thought the other boy might kill himself. He had a similar ritual both times: the shaking of the lip as if he was supressing his urge to cry, the downcast head, the eyes that focused on nothing but the floor, and a qi that spoke of nothing but utter humiliation.

  Then the saber fell to the floor and Jin Qilong couldn't even look at it anymore.

  The first time, Wu Hao wound up killing himself that night, though he'd been hungry as hell as if to make it more miserable: whatever grace had allowed him to steal from the kitchens had been rescinded, and now he'd been chased out whenever he so much as tried to take a single cut of meat.

  Lady Jin apparently wasn't pleased with him if her son lost. Wu Hao had no idea what else it might be, and frankly if anything happened in the compound it felt likely that Lady Jin was somehow involved anyway, no matter how obscure.

  So. Either he gave up on the idea of dueling to increase Jin Qilong's confidence or he gave him some piece of advice that would lead him to victory.

  It'd have to be the latter. Giving up just wasn't who he was, no matter how stupid it was. Besides, he could still get something from this attempt.

  For that reason he hadn't waited until night had fully fallen, but instead he'd waited until the patrols began and then tried to make a break for it. He'd managed to actually make his way over the walls, but over the walls was as far as he'd gotten: a guard's saber had cut him in half before he'd managed to touch the ground outside.

  A new kind of death, but the reward was the same.

  At least he'd gotten the final two parts of the Storm-Cutting Saber Art. That last part was the most interesting one, and it was called the Heart of the Storm. It was a technique that utilized a spinning, slashing motion to carve out the vitals of the enemy in a smooth stroke that was supposedly so fast that it was unblockable.

  Wu Hao didn't know if he'd be able to make that much of it, but he liked the idea.

  In any case, now it was morning, and they'd all gathered near the same place where their trainings always took place. The mood was subdued, and everyone seemed distracted or with their thoughts elsewhere.

  No one was more distracted than Jin Qilong, though. Wu Hao'd intercepted him in the middle of pacing and biting his nails, a habit he hadn't even realized Jin Qilong had.

  "Tell me," Jin Qilong said. "Can I really do this?"

  "Here's what I know about Zhu Yelin," Wu Hao said quietly. "He's a few steps into the third grade. His style is different from his grandfather's - he uses the same Bloodbound Saber Art, but he's more of a stand and deliver kind of fighter. It looks like he doesn't have any movement techniques, or at least I don't think he's ever been seen using them."

  Jin Qilong nodded, hands clenching at his saber.

  "Right," he said, and swallowed. "Okay. That's good."

  "You know a movement technique," Wu Hao said. "This gives you an advantage. What you'd normally do is approach him from tricky angles, exploit his blind spots, and then smash him into bits."

  "Right, right," Jin Qilong said. "I could do that, I think."

  The hesitation in his qi betrayed his lie even if his voice seemed relatively steady.

  "Here's what we're doing instead," Wu Hao said, and leaned in to whisper the new strategy. It was a stupider strategy than one he'd try himself, it was something that could only really work here, but he hoped it'd work nonetheless. Waiting the entire night with an empty stomach to try again was annoying as hell but it did give him some more time to think, and seeing Jin Qilong looking crushed felt, in a word, bad.

  "- so, Zhu Yelin's there," Wu Hao said, pointing. "I'll go challenge him. Make your way to the ring and remember the strategy."

  "Right," Jin Qilong said, as if he'd forgotten the rest of his vocabulary. "Thanks."

  Wu Hao nodded, slung his saber over his back - he barely felt unbalanced anymore when he did that - and headed over to Zhu Yelin. He was standing in a group of other boys and girls. They all looked nervous, and when they noticed his approach one of them huddled closer to the rest.

  "What?" one of them said, raising his head slightly. He was one of Shan Kong's friends, Wu Hao remembered vaguely. There were politics at play here that he really couldn't be bothered to decipher.

  "You," Wu Hao said, and pointed at the stockiest boy of the group. He had short-cropped hair over a blocky, roundish face, but his sunken eyes made him look creepy rather than pudgy. "Zhu Yelin. The young master's challenging you to a duel."

  "What?" that same boy who'd spoken earlier said again, and Wu Hao cast him an annoyed glance. "Why?"

  "Does it matter?" Wu Hao said. "Do you accept?"

  Zhu Yelin looked over at where Jin Qilong stood inside the ring, looked at the rest of his friends, and grit his teeth.

  "I accept," he said.

  "Hold on," one of the girls said quickly. "Are you sure -"

  "It's the young master," Zhu Yelin said, and gave Jin Qilong another look. Wu Hao didn't need to read qi to be able to see the derision in that look. "I'll do it. Someone go tell instructor Yu Xiong."

  A few nods, a bit of preparation to set up the ring, and then they were ready. Zhu Yelin had slung loose his saber, which was the same kind of blade that his grandfather had used yesterday. Or two yesterdays, from Wu Hao's perspective.

  Jin Qilong lifted his saber.

  "Come on, then," he said. Qi pooled from his body as he jerked the saber loose, tossing the sheathe off to the side. Wu Hao caught it without looking twice at it, holding the high-quality leather with one hand as he returned to watching the fight.

  Zhu Yelin scoffed. He was angry, but Wu Hao had initially hoped he'd be furious. It'd make things easier, if he wasn't thinking straight. Unfortunately, it seemed he had a cooler head on his shoulders.

  "Your mother killed my grandfather," Zhu Yelin said. He drew his saber. "He was a hundred times the man you are, young master. You're just a worthless dog."

  "Prepare yourself," Wu Hao said. "You'll be even less than him soon."

  Jin Qilong took a deep breath, steadying his saber after its initial shake. He didn't bother replying, which Wu Hao did appreciate.

  "Begin!" instructor Yu Xiong called, but neither of them moved.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Until Wu Hao clapped, pushing a little qi into his palms to make the sound ring out like the firing of a cannon. There was a moment of hesitation as Jin Qilong's shoulders bunched, but then he threw himself forward, saber keening as it cut through the air.

  "Golden Splendor Art," he shouted. "Glint!"

  His saber let out an abrupt shudder as qi flooded through it. Jin Qilong didn't lack qi, he just lacked the aptitude to force it in that particular shape. Wu Hao could see qi spill over in wasteful amounts, but it did activate. The steel glowed a molten gold before abruptly dimming, and then it crashed into Zhu Yelin's saber.

  "Bloodbound Saber," Zhu Yelin shouted back. "Scarlet Boundary!"

  Zhu Yelin's hooked tip caught the edge of Jin Qilong's saber and wrenched at it, and the Golden Splendor Art met the Bloodbound Saber and began to give way.

  Jin Qilong grit his teeth, then pushed qi into a tight loop centered around his feet, taking a blurring step that ended halfway across the ring. He still held his saber, which was good, because this exact clash was how he'd lost it the first time around.

  Shaking his wrists, Zhu Yelin's eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown, but he said nothing. He stood his ground.

  "Come on," Wu Hao muttered. "Jin Qilong, go."

  He didn't know if he'd been heard, but his command was obeyed. Jin Qilong, his qi speaking of nervousness that was beginning to abate slightly, circled Zhu Yelin, stepping around the edge of the ring.

  Wu Hao clapped, which got him an odd look from several of the others, but it did what it was supposed to.

  Jin Qilong, in the middle of a step, froze, then activated his movement technique again. He vanished, reappeared next to Zhu Yelin at an angle, saber already swinging.

  This time Zhu Yelin was a step too late. His saber was coming up, but it was just a second too slow. The Golden Splendor Art cut through his defense, the saber's edge carving a path over Zhu Yelin's arm and lancing out to kiss the edge of Zhu Yelin's neck.

  Blood flew, but not enough. Wu Hao cursed under his breath. Jin Qilong's saber still soared higher in the air as Zhu Yelin fought off the initial reaction to get away from the edge that'd just wounded him.

  Instead, the Bloodbound Saber Art activated. The wound on Zhu Yelin's neck glowed with qi as specks of red flashed and landed on his saber, boosting its speed until its side smashed into Jin Qilong's ribs, and then Zhu Yelin's hand reached out for the hilt of his saber as he made to push it back down again.

  Steel flashed, as did gold. Zhu Yelin and Jin Qilong brawled, with Jin Qilong getting hit twice as often as Zhu Yelin. Every time he did, he'd flinch, missing a chance to hit his opponent. He was panting, making more mistakes, letting the duel drag.

  Wu Hao clapped, louder, more urgently. Jin Qilong activated his movement technique and flashed away just as the saber tore through where he'd just been, and reappeared with his hand protectively at his side, clutching bruised ribs. His other was still holding his saber, though its point was aiming at the ground.

  Zhu Yelin let out an angry growl, eyes flicking to Jin Qilong.

  "Wu Hao," Yu Xiong growled. "Stop that. Don't interfere."

  "I didn't interfere," Wu Hao lied through his teeth.

  Jin Qilong lifted his hand, set it against the hilt of his saber. His eyes sought out Wu Hao in the crowd, which wasn't one of the signals they'd discussed, so Wu Hao just nodded in a way that he hoped was reassuring. His strategy had worked so far, and now it was time to make use of the fact that Zhu Yelin didn't want to move.

  Come on, Wu Hao thought. He wanted to shout but that'd get him thrown out of the training ground by Yu Xiong - he'd experienced as much. It was something he could do only once, and he was gambling that now wasn't the right time. Even the clapping was just barely tolerated, and it'd taken him the second reset to come up with it.

  And then his heart soared when, after a deep breath, Jin Qilong raised his saber. Whether he'd gotten the idea from Wu Hao or come up with it himself didn't much matter now - what was more important was that he'd acted just in time.

  "Golden Splendor Art," he muttered. Qi blossomed from his hands, running up the edge to his saber and augmenting its golden sheen. It glowed, catching the morning light.

  To his credit, Zhu Yelin didn't retreat. Instead he moved for the first time, trying to barrel forward to interrupt the technique as it was being cast.

  Jin Qilong nearly flinched, but then he grit his teeth and held his ground. Zhu Yelin charged at him, stubby legs covering the ground with the sound of sandals slapping against stone. More red qi spilled from Zhu Yelin's arms, burning its way into his blade.

  "Bloodbound Saber Art," he called. "Red Wave!"

  A flash of qi lashed out in a thin current of blood and flew out at Jin Qilong.

  But he wasn't in time.

  "Glorious Light!" Jin Qilong called, releasing all of the qi that he'd been building up into his saber. It grew, surged, shone with a thick metallic light, and then it screamed forward.

  Gold clashed against red and smashed it completely flat, leaving nothing in the air but a golden sheen of light that seemed almost physical. It continued to fly forwards, diminished but not gone.

  It burst into Zhu Yelin and threw him off his feet, leaving thick scratches as broad as fingers running from the top of his chest down to his right leg. The only reason it hadn't torn into him more deeply was the urgent appearance of instructor Yu Xiong, who'd grabbed Zhu Yelin's collar at the last moment and pulled him back, out of the path of the blow.

  But when his charge was safe he simply let go, and Zhu Yelin dropped to the ground. Blood began to well from his cuts as he stared in disbelief at his hands with wide eyes.

  "This duel is over," Yu Xiong said, his tone almost like he couldn't believe it himself. "The winner is the young master. Congratulations."

  Jin Qilong managed a single bow to Yu Xiong and then to his opponent, and then he threw himself off the stage in a blur of a movement technique in his haste to get away from his victory.

  "I did it," Jin Qilong breathed. His smile, though shy, was like the sun peeking through the clouds during rain season. Wu Hao realized he'd never really seen Jin Qilong in high spirits before. It almost felt uncomfortable. "I really did it."

  "Yeah," Wu Hao said. "You did."

  "I can't believe it worked," Jin Qilong said, breathlessly. "I thought for sure it was going to fail, but I decided to just do it, and it - it went just as you said. Thank you."

  Wu Hao rubbed the back of his neck. This really didn't sit right with him. "Don't thank me."

  "Are you kidding?" Jin Qilong said. "I never thought -"

  "Neither did I," a snide voice spoke.

  Yi Wei, walking over, gave a slow clap, then sneered at the both of them.

  "It won't work again," she said.

  "Yi Wei," Jin Qilong said. It seemed his win still buoyed him because he didn't even seem prepared to flinch back at her verbal jabs. "What's up?"

  "I wanted to say congratulations," she said, and after he'd smiled at her, she continued: "It's not often you see a dog teach his master a trick."

  Jin Qilong's smile faltered, until Wu Hao stepped forwards.

  "Stop it," he said.

  "Or what?" Yi Wei challenged.

  "Or we see if the instructor likes you as much as he does Shan Kong," Wu Hao said blandly. "Will he cradle you in his arms too as he carries you away in defeat, do you think?"

  Jin Qilong guffawed, but Yi Wei didn't seem to find it very funny. She frowned deeply at Wu Hao, then swished her sleeve as if dismissing him.

  "The prefect and his entourage arrives tomorrow," she said, turning and walking away. "Be there, young master, or you'll be disappointing us all again."