Chapter 24: The Duel Begins

Chieftain Yi Du of the tribe was already over seventy years old. Though his hair had grayed, his spirit remained unflagging. As he gazed upon the two dozen youths in the square, all on the verge of adulthood and ready to join the tribe’s ranks, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction—especially since among them stood his own grandson, Yi Kuang.

The chieftain of the Yi tribe, Yi Du, declared, “Let the coming-of-age ceremony begin.”

Then the grand elder presided over the rituals, and one by one, the young men followed the prescribed rites. At last, when the ceremonies concluded, it was time for the most exciting part of the event: the martial contest.

The great chief, Yi Ke, commander of all the tribe’s warriors, oversaw the competition. The format for this contest had been established long ago and consisted of two parts: bouts of hand-to-hand combat and tests of archery.

The combat section forbade the use of weapons; it was a measure of each youth’s cultivation and strength. A temporary ring had been set up in the square.

Yi Ke swept his gaze over the twenty-odd youths and announced, “The rules are simple: the five strongest among you will be chosen. Anyone may challenge those in the top five at any time.”

“Let the contest begin!”

As soon as Yi Ke gave the word, one eager youth immediately leapt onto the ring. He was a third-rank fighter, quite gifted by the tribe’s standards. Soon another youth joined him, and the two began to grapple fiercely. Their blows resounded like thunderous clashes between wild beasts, the force of their strikes sending blasts of air across the ring and filling it with explosive energy.

Before long, one of the boys was hurled from the ring by the other’s attack. The victor, guided by Yi Ke, strode to the position reserved for the top five, beaming with pride and excitement.

Match after match unfolded upon the ring, each winner taking their place among the top five. Once all five spots were filled, the challenges began. The rankings shifted rapidly as one contender after another was defeated and replaced, the spectacle dazzling to behold.

Naturally, the thousands of tribespeople gathered around watched with rapt attention, often erupting in cheers, gasps, and shouts of excitement.

At that moment, a burly youth strode onto the ring. He issued a challenge to one of the top five. In a flash, he sent his opponent staggering back with a single punch and knocked him clear from the ring with a second.

“Haha! You’re all too weak!” he declared arrogantly, having overwhelmed his rival with ease and claimed a spot among the top five.

But he did not step down. Instead, he turned to the other members of the top five and declared, “I, Yi Kuang, challenge all of you! Come down and face me, one by one!”

“Boss Yi Kuang, I concede!” one of the youths immediately cried, eager to avoid his wrath. The others wore bitter expressions, clearly viewing this as a calamity—none of them dared face the chieftain’s grandson, whose strength was far superior to their own.

Thus, they all conceded. In this way, Yi Kuang forced the top five to surrender, sweeping aside all opposition and basking in the glory of his triumph.

“Yi Hong, come up and face me! Let’s see who’s stronger now!” Yi Kuang called out to Yi Hong, the only opponent he truly deemed worthy. The rest, in his eyes, were beneath notice.

“Very well!” answered a figure who leapt onto the ring from below. This was a youth of robust bearing, though lacking Yi Kuang’s brashness and overbearing manner. His strength was concealed, his edge hidden.

In the next instant, the two clashed fiercely upon the ring. Their movements were so swift they became little more than blurs, their attacks impossible to follow with the naked eye. Bursts of powerful energy exploded where they met, leaving gouges and scattering fragments of stone across the ring.

Yi Kuang had mastered the Gale Tiger Dominance Technique, while Yi Hong cultivated the Mountain-Splitting Bull Technique. It was a contest of equals, each force pressing hard against the other.

Both fighters were shrouded in the glow of true energy, their strikes carrying the power to split stone and shatter mountains, no less formidable than if they’d wielded weapons.

Chieftain Yi Du watched his grandson’s display of strength with delight. The great chief’s son, Yi Hong, also performed admirably. Within this generation, the two of them stood at the forefront and were destined to become the backbone of the tribe.

The other elders nodded in approval. Few among their own descendants could match such prowess; their future achievements would surely rival those of their forebears.

These elders each possessed at least eighth-rank cultivation, with some having reached the ninth rank. They were former chiefs and vice-chiefs, now retired, yet still held in the highest esteem and counted among the tribe’s most formidable warriors.

Yi Kuang and Yi Hong battled for ages, neither able to claim victory.

Finally, from below, Yi Feng could restrain himself no longer and called out, “How long do you plan to keep fighting? It’s nearly dark, and we still have to compete! Hurry up!”

The moment Yi Feng’s words sounded, a hush fell around the square.

With two loud crashes, Yi Kuang and Yi Hong separated after another fierce exchange and turned their attention to Yi Feng below.

At that, the youths standing near Yi Feng, Yi Tian, and Yi Shan quickly moved aside, leaving a conspicuous open space around them.

Even on the ancestral temple’s terrace, Chieftain Yi Du, Great Chief Yi Ke, and the seven elders all noticed the disturbance.

“It seems today’s contest will yield some unexpected surprises,” remarked the grand elder, glancing at the scene below.

The tribal leaders all nodded, their anticipation for the coming events clearly growing.

Yi Tian, sensing the gaze of nearly the entire tribe—most of it unfriendly—directed their way, could hardly contain his urge to give Yi Feng a good thrashing. Yi Feng’s talent for drawing resentment was truly extraordinary.

On the ring, Yi Kuang looked over at Yi Tian and his group with a hint of disdain. “So, you’re Yi Feng? Do you really intend to challenge me?”

Years ago, Yi Tian, Yi Feng, and their friends had been the talk of the tribe after daring to venture into the outer reaches of the Dragon Veil Mountains and slay a dangerous beast.

But after deliberate suppression by Yi Kuang, they had faded into obscurity, their names seldom mentioned in the tribe.

“That’s right! I’m challenging you this time!” Yi Feng replied, full of spirit and confidence. He was now a hair’s breadth from reaching the fifth rank, ready to break through at any moment.

In truth, both Yi Kuang and Yi Feng were of intermediate rank, only one level apart; the difference in their strength was not as great as it seemed. Yi Feng’s mastery of the Soaring Feather Technique had narrowed the gap even further.

“In that case, the ring is yours for now,” Yi Hong said to Yi Kuang, then leaped down to stand aside.

Despite the disruption, presiding chief Yi Ke did nothing to intervene, continuing to watch events unfold from above.

“Here I come!” Yi Feng leapt lightly onto the ring, crossing several yards as if borne by the wind.

“What remarkable footwork!” On the ancestral terrace, several tribal leaders were struck by his effortless leap, tinged with a trace of puzzlement—no such movement technique existed among the tribe’s known martial arts. Where had he learned it?

On the ring, Yi Kuang grew serious at the sight of Yi Feng’s leap. Even he could not achieve such grace without the slightest leakage of true energy.

In the next moment, Yi Feng launched the attack.

Yi Kuang roared, his true energy surging like a wild tiger as he clashed with Yi Feng.

Yi Feng, too, activated his technique—the very Gale Tiger Dominance Technique—matching Yi Kuang head-on. The two battled back and forth like tigers in deadly combat.

The crowd was in disbelief. Yi Feng, who’d long faded from prominence, was actually holding his own against Yi Kuang—a truly astonishing sight.

But after twenty or thirty exchanges, Yi Feng began to fall behind. After all, Yi Kuang was a fifth-rank warrior; his Tiger True Energy was more refined and powerful, and over time, Yi Feng found it harder to keep up.

At that moment, after another collision, Yi Feng retreated rapidly.

Then his speed abruptly surged, allowing him to dodge Yi Kuang’s attacks again and again, occasionally counterattacking so that Yi Kuang could not defeat him quickly.

Thus, the two continued their battle around the ring in a contest of pursuit and evasion.