Chapter 100 - An Explosive Battle Begins

At the high table, Ao Wen's mother Hou Jia looked over the preparations with an increasing sense of anxiety. She'd read many stories of cultivators' battles over all manner of faults and slights and Turning Leaf town had no shortage of such stories every time more than a few cultivators awakened within a generation but finding her own daughter in the midst of such a confrontation made things feel very different! 

"Xi'er," she said, looking at her daughter's sworn sister for any comfort she could offer. "Wen'er will be fine with this won't she?"

"Don't worry Mother Hou," Feng Xi said with a grin. "Alchemist Wai Dan has made a terrible mistake today and he's about to learn just how badly he misjudged."

"You think Novice Ao won't have any trouble with this challenge then?" Ju Tse asked from her own seat at the high table. Most tables had been removed from the great hall, leaving the assembled cultivators to form two rows along the sides of the hall while most mortals stood at the back of the hall. The space between had been enclosed by a hexagonal barrier formation set by City Lord Zhang. The barrier shimmered in the air like waves of heat from the road on a hot summer day, distorting the view slightly but promising safety to the people gathered to attend tonight's festivities. 

"She'll be fine," Feng Xi said. "I've seen that look on Sister Wen's face before," she continued. "If there's one thing a wise person should know not to do it's provoking the rage of a dragon. When we fought the Rage Queen, Ao Wen's own aura of Dragon Rage repelled the Rage Queen's aura. That was before she took lessons from a True Dragon Medical Saintess. Now, she's even more focused but every bit as angry. Wai Dan is doomed," she concluded. 

"True Dragon Medical Saintess?" Ao Yang perked up. "Why didn't she mention that when she came home to visit yesterday? She barely said anything about any of this," he added, gesturing to the cauldrons and piles of herbs that had been laid out on tables at opposing ends of the space within the barrier. "She only said that she had the chance to learn a bit of alchemy and used it to save Soldier Tang Jin," he said, confusion clear in his voice. 

"She didn't stay home for very long either," Hou Jia said in a tone that was both concerned and confused. "I don't blame her for rushing off to help Feng Lieren, I'm glad she was able to do anything to help your father Xi'er. It's just that when we asked about what happened in the forest or why she was moving to the City Lord's manor all of a sudden, she barely said anything. We didn't know until she came home with new outfits for us and the invitation to tonight's banquet that she'd actually helped Lady Wan!" 

"I'm sure she has her reasons," Feng Xi said softly. It wasn't her place to reveal Ao Wen's secrets. She knew that Ao Wen already felt uncomfortable with the amount she'd had to reveal in order to establish herself in Turning Leaf town where she had been known since childhood. Already her sworn sister yearned to leave the confining town behind in favor of places she would be judged only for what she could do and not for how she had acquired her skills. That would have to wait, however, until they passed this hurdle and likely others to follow. 

"Ladies, gentlemen, fellow cultivators," the City Lord called from the center of the improvised arena. "Tonight, two alchemists will meet in a contest of strength and standards! Fear not for your safety, the barrier established here can contain the full might of Martial Champions and will not allow any harm to come to those who observe. Cultivators pay extra attention, perhaps you'll find new insights in the spectacle of this evening. Alchemy Novice Wu," City Lord Zhang said after a pause. "I would appreciate your company at the high table along with your observations on both parties concocting," he said before taking a seat himself. 

Within the barrier, Ao Wen looked over her hastily organized team and couldn't help but compare them to the Martial Champions and Formation Master she'd last led as Cong Daiyu. This trio clearly lacked in power and experience compared to her sect siblings yet they each felt far more personally motivated than anyone other than Champion Bo had felt at that time. Though the bonds they held were shallow and new, they felt real in a way that the enforced bonds of sect life never quite managed. "Remember," she said softly to each of them. "I've placed a remnant soul flame at the back of each of your necks. If it becomes intensely hot, the most important thing for you to do is get away from Alchemist Wai. Get behind Zhang Bai's barrier if you can, but at a minimum, get away."

"We understand," Zhang Bai answered for the group, drawing a long two-handed sword and taking his position at the center of the trio of Brawlers' simple formation. "I'll handle Tong Fan, his golden melon hammers aren't easily dealt with. The other two, I'll leave to you, gentlemen." 

At the other side of the impromptu arena, Alchemist Wai Dan gave very different instructions to his gathered champions. "I don't care what you do. I don't care if you get to that brat or not," he spat tersely. "Just keep her pack of mongrels away from me!" 

"BEGIN!" The City Lord's voice echoed through the hall, unleashing a wave of energy that surged from every fighter in the arena. 

Tong Fan grinned, loping forward with powerful strides that shook the room with every step as he rapidly outpaced his companions in his charge toward Zhang Bai. With a furious roar the moving mountain of muscle swung both of his golden melon hammers in flat arcs, seeking to crush Zhang Bai between each of the ten kilogram ball shaped hammer heads. Zhang Bai refused to meet power with power, stopping his own counter swing short and bracing a hand on the flat of his long sword's blade to absorb the force of the shockwave unleashed when the hammer heads impacted each other! 

Both men immediately began a familiar dance of attack and defense, Zhang Bai turning himself into an immovable boulder of resilient blocks and well timed deflectons as Tong Fan turned twin hammers into blurry golden arcs. Neither man showed any wasted movement, both familiar enough with each other and the rules of the match to know that nothing would be accomplished in a single rush. As spectacular as the initial clash had been, the real fight would occur when both began to fatigue. The slightest gap in Zhang Bai's defense would expose him to bone shattering hammer blows while the merest pause in Tong Fan's relentless assault would allow Zhang Bai to pivot from defense to an attack that Tong Fan would struggle to avoid. 

At the side, Tao Juan began running along the edge of the barrier, hands whipping back and forth as he unleashed a storm of darts. Rather than attacking one of the other champions, the nimble young man aimed each of his attacks at Alchemist Wai Dan! 

Leaping in front of the darts, Shun Ren spun his horsetailed spear like a pinwheel conjuring a breeze that deflected the incoming darts away from the Alchemist who focused on the early stages of concocting his own recipe. Droplets of water scattered about the area in front of him carrying the faintest trace of Long Ma's personal techniques - Soaking Rain, but falling well short of the mighty soldier's mastery of wind and water. Still, Tao Juan remained focused on his assault, showing no signs of abandoning his tactic as his swift feet began to carry him in a zig zagging approach that required Shun Ren to constantly change the angle of his deflecting whirlwind. 

At the opposite side, Wen Jun approached the bulkier and stronger Chen Xiong with trepidation, not wanting to come within reach of the larger man's thick hands and powerful arms. "Don't you think it's arrogant of you to not even bring a weapon?" the smaller man goaded. "Aren't you worried that I'll cut you?"

"With that toothpick?" the burly Chen Xiong responded with a laugh. "Sure, you'll scratch me," he conceded. "But I'll crush you the moment you come close enough to do more than scratch. My skin isn't so thin to worry about a few timid slashes," he mocked before beckoning at Wen Jun in challenge. "Come! Show me if your sword skills are better than your poetry!" 

At her own table behind Zhang Bai's protecting figure, Ao Wen's fingers moved steadily through the herbs and other ingredients on her table. She'd left Wild Fang behind despite having the rights to carry a weapon herself in this confrontation, however the silk fan that had been tucked in her waistband now sat among the alchemy tools on her table, ready to be taken up in an instant if anything slipped past the defenses of her three champions. It was early yet to worry about mistakes but she gave herself no room for something to interfere with her preparations. Soon enough, she'd begin to unsheathe her claws in this contest but for now, there was much left to prepare.