Second Patriarch: Rise Of The Liu Clan

After returning to the Yu Clan's estate Liu Zhu considered getting someone to look at his wound, but decided to just rest up and wait for it to heal. This was partially because he had confidence in his stupidly fast healing speed, and partially because he didn't want to embarrass himself retelling the tale of how he got nearly killed by a bear for his clothes. Luckily Liu Zhu's guess was close to reality, and by the next morning his broken rib was already healed. There were still some surface wounds left, but he could train without any problems.

Over the next couple of weeks Liu Zhu continued practicing 72 D.e.s.i.r.es obsessively, wanting to master 3 D.e.s.i.r.es before he returned home. Besides this he visited the lake a few times, bringing Yu Bai or someone similarly strong along with him in hopes of finding a chance to kill the bear that had injured him. Despite his repeated attempts Liu Zhu never stumbled upon the bear, dooming his attempt at petty revenge to failure.

A couple of weeks before Liu Zhu was slated to return home, there was some big news among the Yu Family- Tian Ru had broken through to Early Bone and Marrow Tempering. He wasn't much older than Liu Zhu, so this was rather surprising, and this breakthrough made him the most accomplished junior in the Yu family outside of Yu Qiang's three sons. Before Liu Zhu could offer his congratulations he received a formal letter of challenge from Tian Ru, asking for a rematch. All in all it was oddly serious given that he had only lost a spar before, but he wasn't surprised.

Liu Zhu didn't have much reason to decline, as he had wanted to test his strength after breaking through to Middle Flesh Tempering and mastering the first two strikes of 72 D.e.s.i.r.es. Liu Zhu agreed to it in person, and the match was scheduled for a few days later. This delay was to allow each side time to prepare in theory, but its main purpose was giving the juniors of the Yu Clan sufficient time to gossip and free up time to watch the spar.

When the day of the spar came almost all of the Yu Clan's juniors were gathered around the sparring grounds, and Yu Qiang and Tian Ru's grandfather were stealthily watching from inside a building nearby. Normally the family's elders wouldn't bother with something like this, but Tian Ru's grandfather obviously had an interest in watching his grandson spar, while Yu Qiang was interested in seeing whether Liu Zhu had managed to master the most basic form of 72 D.e.s.i.r.es, 2 D.e.s.i.r.es, after a few weeks of training.

Liu Zhu and Tian Ru took up positions at either end of the sparring grounds, while Yu Bai stood at the side as the referee. In a spar like this the referee served little purpose, but having one was a given when this was scheduled ahead of time. The only important thing they had to do was make sure no one killed each other, which was unlikely given that the two didn't have some sort of life-death grudge beforehand.

Yu Bai said a few words before counting down to the start of the spar. During the countdown Liu Zhu grabbed his guandao, while Tian Ru slipped on a pair of knuckledusters. When the countdown hit 'zero' the two immediately dashed forward, trying to bring the other within striking distance. Tian Ru had a clear advantage in speed given his superior cultivation, but Liu Zhu was hoping to bridge this gap with 2 D.e.s.i.r.es. It obviously wasn't able to improve his movement speed, but if he was able to get in range then using it would mean he had superior striking speed, allowing him to block and attack more easily.

When the two were in striking distance of each other Tian Ru reacted first, throwing out a punch towards Liu Zhu's face. In response Liu Zhu flicked his guandao upwards, barely deflecting the attack. Due to the hurried response Liu Zhu wasn't able to muster all of his force in responding, and so both sides were forced backwards despite his slightly superior strength. After this Tian Ru dashed to Liu Zhu's side, aiming another punch towards his side. Liu Zhu gave up on dodging the attack and attempted to launch one of his own in exchange, but Tian Ru managed to block the guandao's shaft with his other arm. In the end Liu Zhu was sent a step backwards after being punched, while Tian Ru stumbled back a couple steps from blocking Liu Zhu's strike before regaining his balance.

The two exchanged blows like this a few more times, and it was clear that Liu Zhu was on the losing end. Still, it would be difficult for him to lose. His stamina was far above the average, and it would be almost impossible for Tian Ru to deal any major injuries to him given his defensive ability. At the same time, it was similarly difficult for Liu Zhu to wound Tian Ru given his speed. The two were stuck at a stalemate, waiting for someone to begin wearing down first.

As the battle settled into this rhythm, Liu Zhu decided to use 2 D.e.s.i.r.es at the next available opportunity. He'd lulled Tian Ru into a sense of security so he wouldn't expect it, and confirmed that he could face off against someone at Early Bone and Marrow Tempering without using it. There wasn't a reason to hold back any longer. When Tian Ru launched his next attack, Liu Zhu brought his guandao up to block, but used 2 D.e.s.i.r.es at the same time. The guandao moved in two directions at once as it blocked Tian Ru's blow. One blow was blocked, like all the others, but the second blow managed to escape this fate, leaving a light wound across Tian Ru's arm instead.

The crowd cheered at this upset as Tian Ru pulled back slightly, confused about the outcome. Meanwhile Yu Bai and Yu Shi stayed silent, more surprised than anyone else. They had naturally recognized their father's technique, and were amazed that he had passed it onto someone from outside their clan, despite his repeated threats to do so if neither of them started using the guandao.

After a moment, Tian Ru simply charged at Liu Zhu again, deciding to face him head on. As Liu Zhu saw this, he smiled, preparing to counter Tian Ru again. If he used 2 D.e.s.i.r.es over and over it would quickly use up his stamina, but it was better than the alternative. He would much rather compete in seeing how many times he could use it in one battle and how quickly Tian Ru could adapt than decide the victor of this spar over who could last longer. If they went the latter route, then would there even be anyone left watching by the time they were finished?

After Liu Zhu's third use of 2 D.e.s.i.r.es, Tian Ru managed to dodge both strikes. He was still left open afterwards, being forced onto the back foot after doing so, but he wasn't directly wounded. Tian Ru didn't dodge every single use of 2 D.e.s.i.r.es after this, but it showed that the element of surprise was clearly gone. The battle dragged on despite each side going all out, and eventually Liu Zhu had used 2 D.e.s.i.r.es eight times. His arms were very sore, and he was worried that if he used it one or two more times he wouldn't be able to fight anymore. On the other end, Tian Ru had several gashes going up each of his arms, bleeding slightly as he moved. This decreased his striking force, and it wouldn't have been surprising if he conceded. Still, Tian Ru knew that Liu Zhu couldn't use 2 D.e.s.i.r.es forever, and that if he held on for long enough that victory would be his, so he stubbornly refused to give up.

Liu Zhu thought of three routes of action from here. The first was continuing to use 2 D.e.s.i.r.es until his strength ran out, but that didn't seem viable. Tian Ru was amazingly stubborn, and it was likely that his strength would run out before Tian Ru gave up. The second option was simply stepping back and drawing things out since Tian Ru was already wounded. This was likely to result in a victory, but given that this was just a friendly spar, Liu Zhu didn't want to opt for such an underhanded form of victory. This left Liu Zhu with one course of action: to try to use 3 D.e.s.i.r.es. After several weeks of practice Liu Zhu had pulled off 3 D.e.s.i.r.es once in training, but it was still extremely hit or miss. Still, he was at the end of his rope, and whether he used 2 D.e.s.i.r.es or 3 D.e.s.i.r.es again, it was doubtful that he'd be able to continue to fight afterwards. If that was the case, shouldn't he just go all out? Liu Zhu gritted his teeth and tightened his grip around his weapon, waiting for the perfect opportunity.

Eventually he spotted it, taking a hit in the c.h.e.s.t in exchange for striking out at Tian Ru. Liu Zhu let out a loud roar as he frantically tried to unleash the move. An unbearable pain swept through his arms, almost causing him to drop his guandao, but Liu Zhu gritted his teeth and pushed through it. Tian Ru's expression changed, as he seemed to realize that this blow was different from the others, but it was already too late. Liu Zhu's guandao flashed in three directions at once, three slashes bursting through the air. The first barely was narrowly dodged by Tian Ru, but the other two slashed across his c.h.e.s.t in an x-pattern, sending him flying back as a trail of blood followed him through the air.

As Tian Ru landed against the ground with a thud, Liu Zhu's weapon also clattered against the ground, his arms letting go of it involuntarily. Liu Zhu's arms laid at his side, limp, as Tian Ru slowly stood up. He stared at Liu Zhu for a moment before letting out a loud laugh. "Damn, that hurts! I guess that makes your second victory then- I may be stubborn, but I know when I'm beat." After that he awkwardly shuffled about, asking around for some bandages.

Once his wounds were bandaged up Tian Ru went to shake Liu Zhu's hand, but Liu Zhu couldn't control his arms that well and so that was destined to fail. Liu Zhu started walking back towards his lodgings in order to rest, so Yu Bai and Tian Ru followed, prepared to assist him with any doors in his path.