The Second Stage

As the curtain of spiritual energy was opened, several combat rings were revealed on the other side.

These rings were drawn on the ground with extreme precision, each circle around a hundred meters wide in diameter. The color of the lines denoting the boundaries was a reflective silver that the combatants wouldn't be able to mistakenly ignore even in the heat of battle. After all, if they stepped over the boundary during a match, they would automatically be disqualified.

Near each combat ring stood an Elder who was selected to act as a referee for the one-versus-one matches that would be taking place in the second stage.

The Elder who had declared the results of the first stage now started explaining the rules for the second stage as well.

In this stage, each participating disciple would have to fight ten rounds with different disciples as indicated by the announcing Elder. If a disciple won a round, they would be awarded ten points, and if they lost, they would get nothing. However, if a match was considered a draw by the referee, then both participants would get five points each. At the end of the second stage, the disciples would be ranked according to the total number of points earned in this stage.

After detailing the rules, the Elder then began announcing one by one the names of the competing disciples who would battle each other.

"Ring One, Luo Ling and Yang Chen.

"Ring Two, Fan Xuehui and Zhang Yu.

"Ring Three…"

And thus, as the Elder continued to announce the pairings for the twelve rings, under the watch of the refereeing Elders, the second stage was soon underway.

Qinghe watched the matches distractedly, his awareness always on the platforms where the sect masters were seated. More specifically, what he kept his focus on was the highest platform that still remained empty till now. If Wei Xiang and the Sentinel Grandmaster arrived, that was the platform where they would sit and watch the proceedings from.

As happy as he would be if his lover came for his sake, Qinghe felt equally as nervous at the thought of finally meeting the Sentinel Grandmaster. What if his speculations were proven to be true? What if, other than being his future father-in-law, the Sentinel Grandmaster was also―

"Ring Six, Feng Qinghe and Yi Zhishan."

The Elder's announcement suddenly snapped Qinghe out of his thoughts.

By now, each of the rings had seen a few matches. After all, a duel between two cultivators, especially without using spiritual energy, would barely last a few minutes. This was because even if they couldn't use their cultivation, the competing disciples' bodies still retained the physical strength and agility of a cultivator, making each battle progress quickly and with explosive brutality.

Quickly stabilizing his mental state with practiced swiftness, Qinghe stepped towards the sixth ring and entered it.

The opponent chosen for him also slowly walked into the ring, his gaze intense and assessing as it fixed on Qinghe.

Yi Zhishan was a hulking man layered with hard slabs of muscle. He was more than a head taller than Qinghe and almost twice his width. His gait was measured and each of his steps seemed unusually heavy, yet his body moved with a litheness that was unexpected from his bulky frame.

Glancing at the emblem on his opponent's white robes, Qinghe deduced that this person was a direct disciple of the sect master of the mid-tier sect called the Luminous Bloom Sect. It had started out as a sect that primarily nurtured cultivators with wood and earth elemental attributes, but later developed into a sect known mostly for specializing in physique strengthening.

The Elder overseeing their ring called out, "Choose your weapons."

In a deep voice that sounded like the rumbling of shifting boulders, Yi Zhishan replied, "No weapons."

Inclining his head towards the Elder, Qinghe also answered, "No weapons for me as well."

After all, Qinghe felt it would be quite unfair to spar with an unarmed person with blades in his hand. And by fighting this way, Qinghe hoped that the other man would pose more of a challenge to him and at least aid him in keeping his mind off his lover and the Grandmaster for a few minutes.

Though their choice made the Elder raise one of his grizzled eyebrows, he still announced without delay, "Then commence battle!"

Before many of the bystanders had even finished hearing the command, the two combatants had already disappeared from their original positions. The place where Qinghe had been standing was almost instantly smashed into a crater with Yi Zhishan beside it, his fist embedded into the ground.

Having dodged it with plenty of time to spare, Qinghe circled around and aimed a roundhouse kick at his opponent's head. Yi Zhishan turned nimbly and quickly deflected it, then tried to catch Qinghe's foot in his hand, but Qinghe slipped away and brought up his fist, aiming for Yi Zhishan's stomach.

Though Yi Zhishan had tried to take the initiative and control his opponent by pushing the other man to play according to his rhythm, he was the one who ended up being played instead. Now it was all he could do to keep up with the rapid flurry of blows sent over by Qinghe.

With crisp and elegant motions, Qinghe pressed forward and continued to strike with quick efficiency while Yi Zhishan was forced to go on the defensive.

Meanwhile, Qinghe's interest was piqued. Since his opponent was able to withstand these many of his direct hits, his guard must be unusually tough and difficult to break.

So rather than using the straightforward approach, Qinghe decided to employ sneakier tactics. He used feints and bluffs, then followed up with more double and triple bluffs to confuse and frustrate his opponent. His movements also became more unpredictable and fluid, his actions more unrestrained.

With gritted teeth, Yi Zhishan finally realized that all this time, Qinghe hadn't been taking him seriously at all.

Fuming with rage, Yi Zhishan also increased his speed and tried to go on the offensive, sending out well-placed punches and kicks.

Qinghe smoothly stepped to the side to avoid a powerful kick, then caught Yi Zhishan's wrist as it punched toward him before pulling his opponent forward using this grip. Not expecting it, Yi Zhishan stumbled and fell towards Qinghe. Moving with nimble swiftness, Qinghe used his other hand to grab the back of Yi Zhishan's neck and 'helpfully' guided his opponent's head to smash against the ground with the aid of gravity.

Yi Zhishan fell like a cut tree and a loud crack resounded as his skull impacted the hard ground, making many of the viewing disciples and Elders wince.

As one might expect, Yi Zhishan was immediately knocked out cold.

Seeing that one of the participants was unable to continue, the refereeing Elder quickly announced, "Winner of this round, Feng Qinghe! Ten points!"

Qinghe remained calm, neither happiness nor pride visible in his expression as he bent down and flipped Yi Zhishan over. Then retrieving some healing pills from his sleeves, he carefully pushed it into the unconscious man's mouth. After all, Qinghe was almost certain that he had given his opponent a concussion and a cracked skull with that move just now, not to mention the visibly shattered cheekbone and the broken nose. Therefore, Qinghe felt that it was only right for him to compensate for it.

On the other hand, the surrounding disciples all sighed in their hearts. It was truly as said – Martial Brother Feng was such a kind and dependable person! He had such compassion even for the opponent who had just been fighting against him!

After stepping aside and letting Yi Zhishan's fellow sect disciples retrieve him, Qinghe returned to where he had been standing before. It had not even been a full minute since the beginning of the match. He felt it was truly regrettable that his opponent hadn't lasted longer.

Just as he was wallowing in disappointment, another announcement with his name sounded out.

"Ring Nine, Song Jian and Feng Qinghe."

His gloom forgotten, an anticipatory light shone in Qinghe's eyes as he walked towards the indicated ring.

Maybe this time his opponent would last a while more…

In this way, time passed and Qinghe continued participating in matches every time his name was called. And every time he went up to fight, the ring he was in would gain a large number of spectators, some anticipating his quick victory while others seriously tried to learn from him.

As Qinghe grew busy, two people in black and gold robes unhurriedly made their way up the platform, settling down on the topmost seats.

In the ring, Qinghe suddenly felt his soul bond twang, indicating that his lover was here. But right now, he was too busy fighting an opponent to greet his beloved with more than a glance out of the corner of his eye.

On the highest platform, Wei Xiang comfortably situated himself beside his master and called out to the Wu Xiao seated right below him. "Sect Master Wu, what is his score right now?"

His face appearing upturned as he leaned back and looked upward, Wu Xiao answered casually, "Do you even need to ask? Till now, it's nine wins and zero losses. I bet that the whole time, the disciples were all praying that they wouldn't get matched up against him. It's his tenth and last match now. His opponent this time seems to be very strong, so it might take some time. But still, the outcome is hardly a suspense."

Hearing this, Wei Xiang nodded as if it was only to be expected.

At the side, the Sentinel Grandmaster carefully studied his disciple and how his gaze kept being drawn towards the valiantly fighting form of a white-clad disciple. It seemed that Wei Xiang was truly smitten with this lover of his.

One of the biggest reasons the Grandmaster had agreed to come along and watch the Hundred-Year Tournament this time was so that he could assess this cultivator who very obviously held his third disciple's heart. But before meeting him, the Grandmaster felt like it would be more prudent if he gathered some information from his disciple first.

After thinking on it for a bit, the Grandmaster decided to ask directly, "Xiang-er, give me a status report and profile assessment on your lover."

Wei Xiang's mouth twitched at his master's strange way of asking about his beloved, but he still dutifully cast a sound barrier around them and began to recount his little lover's past. After all, Qinghe himself had long since given Wei Xiang the go-ahead to reveal details of his past as he saw fit.

As Wei Xiang recited the tale of Qinghe's childhood at the orphanage, the Grandmaster listened intently, feeling pained and sympathetic, but not shocked. After all, in his hundreds of millennia of existence, he had seen more tragic fates.

But as his disciple spoke of how his beloved fell from the sky, the Grandmaster felt a vague itchiness at the back of his mind as if it should mean something to him, but the sensation soon faded away, leaving him frowning imperceptibly. And again as Wei Xiang revealed how Qinghe's cultivation had shot up the moment his spirit suppressing collar was removed, a strange thought began niggling at the back of the Grandmaster's mind.

Could it be…?

The Grandmaster grew tense at the thought of that possibility. Using the voice in which he usually gave out orders, the Grandmaster commanded, "Tell me more."

Wei Xiang paused in surprise at the obvious tension tingeing his master's voice.

Though his master's face was as blank and rigid as usual, Wei Xiang could still tell that he was anxious. Those little telltale signs were all there—the slight terseness in his tone, his spine stretched even tauter than normal, his fingertips pressing into the armrests…

But feeling that he could somewhat guess at the cause of his master's strange behavior, Wei Xiang continued to speak about his lover in detail.

"After Sect Master Wu wove restrictions around his soul, he was brought back to the Heavenly Peak Sect by Sect Master Zhen. And when it was discovered that his aptitude wasn't lessened due to the restrictions, Sect Master Zhen took him as his second disciple and gave him many of the sect's cultivation methods and manuals to learn from, all of which he absorbed within mere months."

With a hint of disbelief, the Grandmaster remarked, "That can't be possible. For a sect as prominent and steeped in history as the Heavenly Peak Sect, it would take a cultivator a minimum of a few hundred years to completely master so many profound cultivation methods."

"That would be the case normally, but his comprehension abilities have always been above and beyond everyone else's," Wei Xiang replied proudly, then continued, "That was why once he was done learning from the Sect Master, he took turns staying with and learning from each of his sect's Elders. He learned so quickly and thoroughly that he earned even the most stubborn of the Elders' respect. It got to the point where they called him an honorary little Elder amongst themselves. Whenever they had a problem, they would discuss it with him despite his obvious inexperience, and more often than not, he would provide them with a feasible solution."

As Wei Xiang kept speaking of Qinghe's exploits with pride, the Grandmaster looked at the softness and awe in his disciple's eyes and felt both happy and sad. His Xiang-er had now found someone else to respect and care about apart from him. It was a step in the right direction, and yet it left him feeling a bit lonely.

But in the end, he would of course support whatever his disciple chose for himself.

His eyes showing a slight smile, the Grandmaster reached out a hand and patted Wei Xiang on the head like he used to, and Wei Xiang obediently lowered his head and let him.

In one of the combat rings, Qinghe suddenly whipped his head over, his gaze accurately landing on the master and disciple pair after perceiving that someone was touching his lover.

Thinking that he was distracted, Qinghe's opponent chopped down with his machete, putting his entire weight behind the blow. Without even looking, Qinghe smoothly dodged the offensive and struck out with a leg, catching his opponent unawares and almost tripping him. The other man was forced to quickly retreat, his expression showing his frustration at the lack of openings Qinghe presented.

All this time, despite being busy with his matches, Qinghe hadn't been able to help keeping his vigilance up while anticipating sudden attacks on the competition venue. After all, with so many promising disciples, powerful Elders, and sect masters gathered in one place, it would be all too easy if someone wanted to wipe out the power base of the entire righteous faction in one go.

So, after looking over to confirm that it was only Wei Xiang's master who was touching his lover and that his beloved wasn't in any danger, Qinghe felt relieved and redirected his attention to the match once again.

Witnessing this series of events, the Grandmaster didn't know what to say. After a while, he finally commented, "It seems that his possessiveness of you does not lose to that of your beast's."

His eyes sparkling with happiness, Wei Xiang corrected, "It's more of a protective instinct than possessiveness on his part, and he is no more protective of me than I am of him."

The Grandmaster felt somewhat surprised at hearing that. After all, who would have thought that a cultivator at eighth realm would feel the need to be protective of the third most powerful cultivator in this entire world?

But if his disciple had to have a lover, then this was the sort of person the Grandmaster felt assured leaving Wei Xiang to.

"You both truly are a suitable match," the Grandmaster spoke with a hint of amusement warming his eyes.

Wei Xiang smiled with satisfaction. "Yes, we are."

The Grandmaster's gaze slowly drifted over to where Qinghe was playing around with his opponent in the ring. His voice growing serious once more, he said, "Xiang-er, now tell me more about your lover."

Looking at how the Grandmaster's intense gaze was pinned on Qinghe, Wei Xiang thought that if he didn't know better, he would think that his master was interested in his lover romantically. But Wei Xiang did know better, and combined with the suspicions already in his mind…he felt that such interest was only to be expected.

And so, Wei Xiang continued to speak about his beloved, "Apart from his Elders, he is highly regarded among his fellow disciples as well. And though his ability is a head and shoulder above theirs, he treats them all with courtesy. He helps anyone who comes to him and solves their problems no matter how tricky they are. He also assists his master with a significant portion of the sect master's work, especially with things like discussing sect relations or hosting events, collaborating with other sects for hunting beasts or assigning duties to relevant personnel.

"But over time, he relegated all the administrative duties to his junior brothers and other disciples while taking on more secretive assignments like making deals with prominent powers for the benefit of the sect or hunting for materials, treasures, rampaging beasts and the like. He is seldom in the sect anymore, only staying there for brief periods and spending the rest of his time roaming the lands while helping people and seeking various ways to support and develop his sect further."

His gaze deep and thoughtful, the Grandmaster kept his eyes trained on the young cultivator in the ring who kept effortlessly evading all attacks thrown at him while delivering precise blows that slowly wore down his opponent. This style of playing cat-and-mouse with one's adversary really reminded him of another person.

Wei Xiang saw his master's gaze softening ever so slightly as if recalling a fond memory and couldn't help but wish that his speculations were really true.

After a few more minutes, Qinghe finally tired of fighting and decided to stop procrastinating and get his meeting with the Grandmaster quickly over with.

Ducking and swerving out of the way of another round of vicious slashes, Qinghe clamped his arms over his opponent's wrists to immobilize the machete temporarily. Then without hesitation, Qinghe brought up his knee to sink it into the other man's stomach in a swift motion.

Grunting in pain, his opponent doubled over and tried to regain his bearing, but Qinghe didn't give him the chance. Not wanting to play around anymore, Qinghe delivered a hard kick, putting the entire power of his back, hip, knee, all the way to his heel, behind the blow.

The moment the kick connected, his opponent flew like a comet right out of the ring, getting instantly disqualified.

"Winner of this round, Feng Qinghe! Total, hundred points!"

Deafening cheers rang out as Qinghe straightened once again. Bowing towards his opponent who was fortunately able to get back to his feet on his own, Qinghe said, "I thank this martial brother for your guidance."

Qinghe's opponent showed a conflicting mix of emotions on his face, but just shook his head helplessly in the end and bowed back before leaving.

After finishing with all the niceties, Qinghe turned around and finally managed with effort to push out from the throng of people surrounding the ring. The second he came out, Qinghe looked about in search of his lover.

As for Wei Xiang, as soon as he'd seen Qinghe beginning to wrap up his match, he had also taken his master along and descended from the platform to walk towards where Qinghe had been fighting.

Qinghe and Wei Xiang spotted one another at almost the same time and calmly strode towards each other with a steady and unhurried gait.

Seeing that Sentinel Wei and the Grandmaster were walking amongst them, the crowd of disciples also quickly parted to make way.

And so the two sides finally met.

"How was it?" Wei Xiang immediately asked, his voice soft.

Qinghe looked up at his lover with a smile. "It was fun."

His gaze then shifting to the side, with curious eyes, Qinghe studied the Sentinel Grandmaster who had acted as his lover's foster father all these years.

Rather than seeming overtly tough or chivalrous as one would expect, the Grandmaster instead looked graceful and cold. His build was androgynous and his expression stiff. When he walked, every step seemed to be executed with militaristic exactness, lacking the fluid elegance one would expect from someone with such a devastatingly beautiful face and slender figure.

The depths of the Grandmaster's dark eyes seemed weighed with immeasurable age, his gaze holding unfathomable power and unbending strength. As he stood there wrapped in an air of quiet command, his calm and steady presence exuded a sense of magnetism, drawing in everyone around him.

Unlike the other Sentinels' uniform, the Grandmaster's robe was simple, colored plainly in black and edged with a line of gleaming gold. The only other ornamentation on his clothing was the character for judgment stitched on the left of his chest with gold thread. The color of the robe itself was a very dark black that seemed to swallow all light in its vicinity, its material visibly luxurious and appearing very resilient.

The phrase 'This disciple greets Grandmaster' almost reached Qinghe's tongue before he was forced to pause in shock, his eyes drawn to the character on the left of the Grandmaster's robe.

It was the exact same character as the one on the Sentinels' authority token, including the style of the strokes with which it was written. But unlike on the authority token, there were no ornate designs surrounding it. And yet, this only intensified the sense of recognition Qinghe felt upon looking at it.

He strongly remembered seeing that character stitched on this exact style of black robe, maybe even worn by the same person as now.

Perceiving the strangeness in his little lover's expression, Wei Xiang grew concerned.

Then in a casual voice, he broke the silence and began introducing, "Qinghe, this is my master, the Grandmaster and the leader of the Order of Sentinels. And Master, this is my lover, Feng Qinghe, the second disciple of the sect master of the Heavenly Peak Sect."

Snapping out of his thoughts, Qinghe absentmindedly bowed to his lover's master in greeting, but the Grandmaster's reaction to the introduction was noticeably more intense.

"Feng Qinghe? That's your name?" the Grandmaster asked, his voice sounding slightly unsteady despite his blank face.

Qinghe nodded. "Yes."

On the other hand, seeing his master's pallor visibly worsening, Wei Xiang was beginning to grow anxious. "Master, are you alright?"

Nodding to alleviate his disciple's concern, the Grandmaster looked at Qinghe with an intense gaze as he asked, "How is your name written"

Though Qinghe felt a sense of unease, he still opened his mouth to answer. But Wei Xiang was a step faster as he replied in his lover's stead, "It's written with the characters for 'wind' and 'clear harmony'."

Qinghe looked at his beloved with widened eyes. "Xiang, how do you know? I don't remember telling you this before."

Shrugging, Wei Xiang explained, "Back when we were stuck with the Nightmare Parasite, I saw the younger version of you wearing a sash that had your name on it."

"What else was written on that sash?" the Grandmaster pressed, a sense of urgency in his tone.

Wei Xiang looked at his master with startlement, but still dutifully recited from memory, "It said, 'My name is Feng Qinghe. If you find me loitering at any place I shouldn't be—'"

"'—please return me to the Feng residence'," the Grandmaster finished in a strange voice.

"Yes. Master, how did you know?" Wei Xiang asked. Though he had his doubts, he would like his master to confirm them himself. But by now, Wei Xiang was almost completely sure that his speculation was true.

However, before the conversation could proceed any further, Qinghe interrupted them, "I think it would be better if we resume this discussion elsewhere. I've finished the first two stages of the tournament and the next stage isn't until a week later, so I am free for now. Is there any particular place where the Grandmaster wishes to continue this conversation?"

The Grandmaster looked at Qinghe with an unfathomable expression, then nodded. "If you don't mind, I would like to visit the place where you live."

Qinghe paused in surprise, but nodded. "Very well, let's do that."

And so, Qinghe left with Wei Xiang and the Grandmaster through the shadows, not even waiting until the results were announced, declaring that he had once again gotten first place.