Hong Zhao Vs Bai Lan

"What the hell." Hong Zhao sighed as he saw Ren Cai disappear into the crowd. He knew she wasn't simple the moment he had met her. There was something about the ability she used that sparked a hint of familiarity within him. He remembered his life before he was a spy, when he was in special forces. He remembered a woman that once used a concealed wrist crossbow prototype which seemed just as spot on as the one this little girl had used. He couldn't remember her name, no matter how much he tried to piece together his memories, he could only remember the missions they had been on, yet not who she was. "Dammit Lan, this is the first time your meddling actually has made things difficult for me." He grimaced as he looked after the disappearing girl. Even if she had once been an ally, there was no telling what she was now. He remembered her threat and smiled. There were few things those like him enjoyed, one was the thrill of a challenge. Once challenged, they would do whatever necessary to win or eliminate the threat.

"Hong Zhao, why do I not like that smile on your face?" Li Wuhan watched his younger friend carefully. The smile on Hong Zhao was not one that a young boy would have. It was one of those times that he seemed to be looking into a window within his friend's soul. He could see past the innocence into the mastermind which rested within.

"I'm just realizing that the only other Sixth Star Student within this tournament might not be so simple, that's all." Hong Zhao reigned in his excitement and sent his friends an apologetic glance. "I think her specialty is something called Qi Bolt. If you have to face her, forfeit immediately."

Li Wei nodded her agreement almost instantly, yet Li Wuhan hesitated. "With my Qi Guard and Qi Sword, I might be able to overpower her, at least if I get close enough to her. If she has some sort of ranged ability, she might not be able to defend herself at a close distance."

Nodding his head slightly, Hong Zhao listened to his friend. He knew that Li Wuhan was someone who wished to gain face in situations like this. His pride came at a cost, he would recklessly throw his life to the wolves in order to further his own place within his family. In this world, such a drive was common, yet Hong Zhao knew that such thoughts were just present to get people killed. "That might be the case with a bow and arrow, or even such a thing as my Qi Blast which takes a moment to form the Qi, aim and fire, yet the Qi Bolt she has can be fired with a thought. Did you see her raise her hand? Did you see her form the Qi Bolt? She must have shot it the moment Huang Ji commenced the battle." Hong Zhao stared Li Wuhan down. He wasn't about to lose a close friend to such a rookie mistake as underestimating an opponent.

"I wouldn't know unless I give it a try, right?" Li Wuhan gave a bright smile. Hong Zhao knew he wouldn't be able to talk his friend out of his decision easily.

Sighing, Hong Zhao looked at his friend, yet it wasn't with the innocent expression Li Wuhan knew so well. Instead, his gaze arrested Li Wuhan. He didn't feel like he was looking at a seven year old boy anymore. Instead, all of the experiences within Hong Zhao's life seemed to collect in a single glance. All of the infiltration and assassination missions he had taken on, all of the wars he had been a part of before that time of his life, everything he had ever had to do for his own world condensed into a blood curdling killing intent. "If you truly wish to take her on, then you must first meet my gaze unflinchingly. Only then will I know you are ready for such an opponent." His voice came out much more deep than a seven year old's should be. The warm day seemed to cool only within the spot the three friends stood in. "Anything less and you might die." The look drained out of Hong Zhao leaving a tired yet pleading expression. "I don't want to lose any friends due to my own carelessness. Please don't make such a thing happen."

Li Wuhan's face had paled many shades when Hong Zhao released such a dense killing intent. He wasn't the only one affected by such a sight. Most of the tournament participants had also noticed such a change and watched the proceedings. Hong Zhao hoped that he had spoken silently enough so they wouldn't be able to tell what he had said, but there was no way of masking such resolve to kill. He had hoped he wouldn't need to resort to such methods to keep his friend in line, yet he knew it might have happened.

"Do you believe that she can match your own abilities?" Li Wuhan finally found his voice again. His eyes were still wide as he asked.

"I'm not even sure I could win given the limitations I have put on us." Hong Zhao said without hesitation. "If it comes down to a fight between the two of us, I'm not completely sure who would win."

"You mean in a fair fight."

"There's no such thing as a fair fight in life, Li Wuhan. Either you have an advantage, or your opponent does." He smiled at the thought of a fair fight. "Even if you were able to win at this so called 'fair fight' depending on the type of person you face, they may come after you for whatever prize you gained by defeating them. They might just kill you for not showing them enough face by forfeiting instead of winning." He had a distasteful look as he glanced over at Huang Yi. "You should watch your opponents closely. Search for any signs of an ability and learn anything you can so you can defend yourself. If you can't, there's no shame in forfeiting."

Everything Hong Zhao said made perfect sense in his head, yet he knew that such a way of thinking was not one of this world. He hoped that eventually he might be able to help them understand that there was a time and place for pride.

"Hong Zhao and Bai Lan, make your way to the arena floor!" Huang Ji's voice rang through the crowd. Since Huo Hai had forfeited the round, there wasn't a reason to have a break between battles. He walked to the arena in measured steps. He didn't activate his movement ability or make a flashy entrance, instead he slowly walked up as if he owned the stage. His boyish expression had melted away, leaving a look of indifference. It almost looked like he were just out for a walk instead of being on his way for a match.

Bai Lan had long since made it to his side of the arena as Hong Zhao finally took his own position. The boy looked somewhat skittish as he looked at the seven year old Sixth Star Student Ranked Cultivator. Though he knew he couldn't defeat this monster, he was still going to do his best.

Hong Zhao was at least impressed by this young boy's determination, he knew that Bai Lan was close enough to him to feel the killing intent he had let out before, yet it didn't seem that it was enough to make him back down.

"Let's have a good match!" Hong Zhao cupped his fist in his hand and bowed to Bai Lan. Having been given face before the match, the boy seemed to lighten up a little.

"Let us do our best!" He also cupped his fist in his hand and bowed.

"Begin!" Huang Ji jumped from the arena and the match commenced.

Hong Zhao let Bai Lan move first. He wanted to gauge what exactly his opponent could do.

Bai Lan activated his own movement ability and disappeared from where he had just been standing. His cultivation was that of a Fourth Star Student Rank Cultivator, yet he would not allow that to decide the match. Hong Zhao again approved of the young boy's attitude. The more worked up he was, the more interesting the fight was going to be.

Though Bai Lan disappeared, Hong Zhao's eyes followed the boy's movements as if he were in slow motion. As he drew close enough, Hong Zhao noticed the boy's glowing hand as it reached him, attempting an uppercut.

Hong Zhao jumped, following the trajectory of the punch and flew upward, then flipped and landed on his feet. Just as he had landed, Bai Lan was back on top of him. Glowing hand after glowing hand, he tried to hit every exposed vital point, yet at the moment of impact, Hong Zhao backed slightly, narrowly avoiding the attack. The glowing fists looked like just Qi covered fists, not really an ability, but still showing a good control of his own energy. He had no doubt that if he was hit by the punches, they would be magnified in strength by many times. Instead of weaving in and out of the attacks, he only took a step back or to the side, staying in range of the attacks, yet too fast for Bai Lan to land anything.

Hong Zhao allowed his opponent to wear himself out. He didn't want to embarrass him by kicking him out of the ring, instead he wanted his opponent to do his best and leave the arena knowing that he had done all he could.

Fist after fist, Hong Zhao ducked and twisted away, yet he intentionally received the punches every once in a while. He had almost nothing to fear from the attacks. If he were a normal Sixth Star Student Ranked Cultivator, he might have had trouble, but since he had strengthened his organs using Lan's special instructions, his body was much harder than the normal cultivator's.

After what seemed like an hour, the glow around Bai Lan's fists began to diminish. His speed also began to slow. Hong Zhao knew the boy only had a few minutes left before he collapsed. Instead of allowing that to happen, he caught a punch in his hand and held tightly. "You are about to collapse from Qi Exhaustion. How about we end this fight?" He smiled friendly towards Bai Lan. "I can tell your Qi manipulation is on another level from the others. If you continue your path of cultivation, I'm sure you will give me a run for my money the next time."

Bai Lan's eyes met Hong Zhao's. His face was drenched with sweat. His robes clung to him as if he were just dowsed in water. His heavy breathing evened out slightly and he smiled. "You have given me quite the match, senior." He said with respect. "Maybe next time, you won't have to let me hit you."

Hong Zhao took out a Qi Grasping Pill and handed it to the boy. "Take this when you cultivate tonight, it should help you break through. I sense you are not far from the Fifth Star Student Rank."

Bai Lan looked down in his hand. The jade vial held one light green pill. He had originally joined the tournament hoping to gain some cultivation resources in order to break through to the next rank, yet he received the resource even though he had failed to win. Cupping his fist in his hand, he bowed to Hong Zhao. "Thank you, senior." He then swiftly left the arena before Hong Zhao had the chance to change his mind.

"The winner by forfeit is Hong Zhao!" Huang Ji's voice rang out to the contenders. None of them noticed the exchange of the pill. Instead all they saw was Bai Lan bowing and leaving.

"He must have noticed the difference in strength and forfeit." Voices started to murmur within the crowd. Hong Zhao was glad that they didn't notice the Qi Grasping Pill. He might have become a target if they had noticed. With a faint smile, he left the arena and joined back up with the Li Siblings. He silently hoped the next fight would be less eventful.