Forgotten One

Just as he was closing the distance, getting closer and closer to the mace. His eyes constricted a bit. His body started to contort, almost as if he had bones missing in his body. His arm twirled around the mace, dodging it completely. His body contorted and it wrapped around the mace as well. He went to pull the mace from her hand in an effort to disarm her.

Ting Ting noticed what he was trying to do and made an effort to let go of the mace first. The mace was incredibly heavy, Zu Ke was planning on bringing the mace to the end of the stage and then throwing it off.

However, the mace was so heavy that he could barely lift it properly. He let go of the mace and it fell to the ground. "How the hell can such a small girl use a weapon like that?"

Ting Ting took her time picking her mace back up and placing it on her shoulder. "I'm not small, I'm fun size." She pouted and burst out with her power.

She used her hand and made a chopping motion, this followed up with a kick and a few more renditions of that sequence. They were fighting hand to hand; Zu Ke couldn't land anything too hard and it was hard for Ting Ting to land anything at all.

Ting Ting chose to go for a low kick. When Zu Ke jumped into the air to dodge, Ting Ting also jumped into the air. They both knew where each other was landing but Ting Ting had a greater advantage. She had a weapon and he didn't.

Ting Ting noticed this, she grabbed her mace and smashed it near the area Zu Ke landed. The ground trembled and Zu Ke wasn't able to get a proper footing. He was too late to dodge and took a heavy blow on his arm and ribs. His left arm was now dangling, it wasn't broken but Zu Ke lost all feeling in it. He was now in deep trouble. Ting Ting took her time, dragging her weapon on the ground as she walked closer and closer to her opponent.

Zu Ke copied his first tactic. He stayed on the defensive and waited for Ting Ting to strike with her mace. Once the mace grew closer, he began contorting his body once more. Zu Ke noticed that Ting Ting was going to use her free hand to attack.

He knew without sacrificing anything, it would be extremely hard to win this fight against this type of opponent. Zu Ke stopped contorting and ignored the mace entirely. The crowd didn't know what they were witnessing.

"IS HE A MAD MAN!"

"THAT CAN'T BE NATURAL"

Zu Ke ignored the entire crowd and continued fighting. Zu Ke latched onto Ting Ting's free hand and pierced her skin with his sharp nails. He was trying to rip her arm off clean from her elbow down. Streams of blood were trickling, and Ting Ting's face was quite red. She had gotten quite used to her moniker, "HOW DARE YOU TOUCH THIS PRINCESS!" her face was red in anger. Zu Ke's nails were so deep that you could even start to see her tendons.

He was ripping away at her arm piece by piece; he was doing anything to gain an advantage. Ting Ting simply had enough, this was only a trial, not something to lose an arm over. However, that's only what she thinks, not what Zu Ke thinks.

Ting Ting had enough, she calmed her breathing and slowly raised the mace. She smashed it down on Zu Ke's back. His shoulder blades could be heard, hitting and rubbing each other upon impact. Zu Ke still didn't let go. This time he opened his mouth, he actually wanted to use his sharp teeth to tear her arm completely off.

Ting Ting did not want any of it. She took her mace one last time and struck Zu Ke's knee.

"BAAAAAAAAAM"

Dust and smoke flew into the air due to the impact of the mace attack. When the dust cleared there were 2 people standing in a pool of blood. It was Ting Ting, her mace on the ground and her free hand holding up her bloodied arm. The other figure was looked to be barely standing.

If you looked even closer, the figure was indeed standing. He was standing completely straight using one leg. His other leg was a different story. His knee had traveled in the opposite direction. Bones could be seen protruding out of his skin from the other side of his knee. This injury caused him to slouch greatly.

The Jade Empress's lovely voice woke up the dazed crowd, "Ting Ting is the victor, in this match, it is Zu Ke's loss."

Ting Ting was facing the ground the entire time. She took her mace and slowly left the stage; her eyes never left the ground as she dragged her mace to the edge and left the stage.

The Jade Empress spoke once more, "Zu Ke, you may leave, there are other battles left."

Zu Ke was also staring at the ground. He was grinding his teeth and it was hard for him to speak, "I.. I… I….I CAN'T"

"She was quite annoyed now, "Zu Ke you have lost, there is nothing left for you to do or prove. You are still within the top 10 so do not continue to act childish, maintain your dignity."

"I would love to leave the stage Sect Master, but I can't"

The Sect Master took a closer look and saw that Zu Ke wasn't lying. The bones protruding out of his knee was actually keeping the rest of his body upright. He was carried off stage by Elder Hansa and rushed to the Healing Pavilion.

Ting Ting was extremely downcast in her expression. She had fought in tournaments before, but no one had tried to injure her after she clearly was the winner. She could have lost an arm; she should have acted first. Maybe the Nymph Queen was right, maybe she was too naïve.

After a few more fights occurred, most of the positions had been given out. The last fight was between Lei Shu and Ansu.

They both bowed.

"Lei Shu, 2nd stage of Body Tempering."

"From today on, you can all call me… 8th stage of Body Tempering, Ansu the Aloof."

He kept his blade on his back and rolled his sleeves. His ashy gray arms were exposed to the crowd.

"Hmmmm, are you also one of those royals. Is that how someone like you made it to the Sect. Your cultivation strength is a lie, did your royal family get you medicine to boost your strength?"

They met in battle with their fists first. They were throwing punches back and forth; Lei Shu had a bit more technique within each strike. Even though he had this as an advantage, in terms of raw strength he was lacking. Lei Shu was giving it a good amount of effort but Ansu's bored playful face remained the same. Ansu was also a head taller than Lei Shu, he looked like a kid trying to fight an a.d.u.l.t.

Lei Shu had enough energy to reply, "I worked for my strength, my bloodline may be royal but nothing else about me is."

Ansu revealed a smile, "Even if you don't admit it, I can always tell a royal, they have a certain scent."

At this point, Lei Shu had bruises covering his entire body. He was in pain but not quite enough, he kept throwing his arms when he finally stopped to reach for his dagger. His action was picked up by Ansu. Ansu ripped through the air with his sword and cut out a chunk of flesh in Lei Shu's t.h.i.g.h. Lei Shu got his dagger and leaped away from Ansu, however, he wasn't fast enough.

"Why do you seem to hate royalty Ansu?"

"Your royalty yourself so how could you understand. They care nothing for us, we are just grass in the way to them. They are all great from the start due to their background and resources. How do they expect us to rise and become strong or show any promise if we literally have nothing to help us? The land is governed by power-hungry hypocrites. I can't stand any of them."

Ansu poked his sword 5 times in the span of a second, the angles were untraceable, and Lei Shu was stabbed.

Bloodied holes were riddled in Lei Shu's body. He could hardly stand but his eyes never left Ansu's.

"They took everything from me, do you know how much I've hurt. There were countless nights that had no sleep, no meal, no shelter, only family. And they took that, we didn't ask for much, we didn't ask for anything at all. We received absolutely nothing from them, but they continue to take everything from us, and they have the audacity to look me in the face and tell me its just. The people in my family have had to lower their heads and be obedient dogs if we even decided to raise our heads. A calamity would fall upon us. So you know what we did, we remained quiet, we fought through it and believed that better times would come. We prayed; the only thing we could do was pray. My mother told me that God will always help us in the end. Just don't lose faith, when we are blinded by the darkness, our Lord will help us see. You know what happened… nothing. There was no food, no shelter, no sleep, no lord, and no family left in my life. The only f.u.c.k.i.n.g thing that remained was that f.u.c.k.i.n.g government, the government led by the royals of the empire."

"That's why I do what I do."

Ansu was now shooting his sword out without paying much attention. He lost control of his emotions after thinking of something he hadn't for so long. Lei Shu was heavily wounded, and blood was dripping down his head. He was huffing and puffing, he tried to catch his breath and deliver a viable strike. Ansu shot out a killing blow to Lei Shu. Lei Shu caught it with his b.a.r.e hands and moved the blade. It was in his hands and it blew directly past his head. His hands were soaked in his own blood, but his eyes were incomparably clear.

Ansu was baffled, "Why don't you just quit, you have no chance at winning this tournament, you're only hurting yourself."

Lei Shu looked Ansu deeply in the eyes. "No, you're the one who is truly hurting. You could've killed me already, but you chose not to. You're not a bad person despite what anyone else thinks. I don't know of your situation but if you want, I would be willing to help."

"I quit…"

Everyone didn't know what to say. The fight wasn't over yet, both sides had obviously not given it everything they had. Out of nowhere Lei Shu just quit."

Lei Shu was about to leave the stage when Ansu called out to him in an indifferent voice. "Lei Shu, why do you fight, you're not the strongest, you're nowhere near it yet you continue to put your everything on the line."

Lei Shu spoke as he left with his back facing Ansu, "I fight because I have something worth dying for. I fight for power. The power needed to protect those near and dear to me. And Ansu, I think you're worth dying for as well." Lei Shu hobbled off the stage as he left.

Ansu's eyes were now a bit misty, he was guided off the stage by Elder Hansa, but his eyes were in a dream state.

The Sect Master Jade Empress spoke out, that will be all for the final trial. For our last battle, the outcome has been decided. 2nd place will be Lei Shu and 1st place will be Ansu. From today onwards the top 300 in overall position will become official outer disciples of the sect.

Also, Elder Hansa will take his first disciple in today. His disciple will be none of than the first-place position, Ansu. Everyone get back to your room and come to the courtyard in the morning, an assembly will be held so everyone is on the same page.