As Kang Lin approached the board where her next matchup was posted, she was actually quite happy. Reaching the sixth round ant that she was in the top sixteen cultivators in her division in the entire tournant. Even if she advanced no further, getting that far was a significant and admirable feat. She could definitely hold her head up high.
If fact, her fellow sect mbers were already recognizing her achievents. Everywhere she went, soone congratulated her, even so whom she’d always considered to be much more talented than she was. It was a heady experience.
Kang Lin felt … good, bringing honor to her family and her sect.
That positive feeling lasted until she saw the na of her next opponent—Yang Ru (Rising Tide Sect).
It wasn’t that she was afraid he would beat her—she was absolutely positive that he would. She lost around three quarters of their spars, and she suspected that she only won when he was either experinting with a technique or simply wasn’t trying his hardest. But that was okay. Reaching the sixth round—being one of the top sixteen!—was already an amazing accomplishnt. There was no sha in not reaching the seventh.
No, the problem was seeing him. She’d avoided him for months. Literally months. She hadn’t spoken to him or, with the exception of watching from the stands as he fought, even seen him in all that ti.
Honestly, she’d hoped to keep up that streak for as long as possible. Years. Decades. Centuries if she could manage it.
When Kang Lin thought about him, her emotions beca a tangled ss. She was positive she was doing the right thing. By forcing him away from her, he’d eventually find soone better for him. Soone who could keep up with his monstrous talent.
But...
There were rumors whispered by those in her sect who thought themselves too far away for her to overhear. It was said that Yang Ru had started dating again. Which was good. It made her feel … relieved. The thought of him being as miserable as she was made her heart ache.
The girls he had tea with though… All were of lower talent than even her. If she couldn’t keep up, they’d be left so far behind that no thod that Master could conjure up would help them. He deserved a top talent. A star. Not trash.
The thought of throwing away her relationship with him only for him to end up in an even worse circumstance was agonizing. But what could she do about it? If Yang Ru wanted to be an idiot, that was his choice. Her backing away was what was best for both of them, and if he didn’t see that, he was a complete moron!
Even if he married trash, she still was doing the morally and ethically correct thing. That none of those girls were good enough for him ant nothing. Her being slightly better than them still left her as an inferior partner for him.
Being with him was wrong. Period.
Fighting him tomorrow ant nothing. She’d do her best and lose and never have to see him again.
Resigned that she was doing what was best for both of them even if it made her miserable, she spun and stalked away from the board, dabbing at a bit of moisture at the corner of her eye.
As Yang Ru approached the board where his next matchup was posted, he was beyond apathetic. Reaching the sixth round ant nothing to him. Honestly, the fights up to that point hadn’t even been that much of a challenge. He’d barely learned anything through the first five rounds.
That indifferent feeling lasted until he saw the na of her next opponent—Kang Lin (Poison Claw Sect).
That na changed simply everything. For her to fight him ant she had to be on the arena floor at the sa ti as him, the nearest they’d been in months. His heart pounded. He’d see her again. Up close.
He knew that there was nothing he could do to win her back. Not truly. She’d clearly made up her mind. But just the thought of being near her was amazing. Maybe she’d let sothing slip that would let him know what he did wrong, and if he knew what he’d ssed up, maybe he could figure out a way to fix it.
Again, not likely, but any chance was better than no chance, right?
He felt the ends of his mouth curl up, unbidden, just a bit. It was the happiest he’d been in a long ti.
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Ultimately, he was resigned to the fact that he had little chance to change their fate, but he appreciated the heavens for giving him even that much.
Kang Lin was almost late. She so dreaded seeing Yang Ru that she procrastinated each part of the process of getting ready, resulting in her barely making it there on ti.
When she walked onto the arena floor, she discovered that Yang Ru had arrived first. She honestly didn’t know if he already being there was better or worse than her having to wait. On the plus side, there was a lack of having to experience awful anticipation while thousands of people watched. On the negative, she was so very, very acutely aware of his eyes on her as he approached.
She made the mistake of glancing at his face. He noticed and gave her one of his goofy smiles. Her heart thudded, rembering how his face would light up when she walked into a room.
Imdiately, she looked away, focusing on her walk as if navigating the slight swells of sand required her full attention.
“Don’t look up” beca her mantra as she walked. But she couldn’t help it. She looked up.
Yang Ru resembled a kicked puppy.
Or how she imagined a kicked puppy would look. She’d never actually kicked one.
Until that mont.
How could doing the right thing feel so wrong? It was making both her and him miserable.
The most positive thing about being almost late to the match was that she didn’t have much ti between when she arrived and when it started, aning she didn’t have much ti she had to stare at her feet with his eyes surely burning a hole through her.
To distract herself, she focused on her first move. He always opened by charging at her, building up Montum as he ran. That gave her the opportunity to get in several strikes with her Lightning.
Not that it would hurt him, but the qi burned by his shield blocking her ranged attack was slightly in excess of what she used to create them. Thus, the more tis she could hit him, the better.
Of course, he had close to three tis as much qi available as she did, but every little bit counted?
As per the official tournant rules, no techniques could be charged before the match began, but as soon as the official signal was given, she quickly manifested a full strike, looked up, and let loose.
Yang Ru hadn’t moved an inch. The Lightning flashed across the sand and struck his chest, where his shield blocked it.
Surprised and trying to determine what his new tactic was, she blasted him again. And again. And again.
He still didn’t move.
Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer. “What are you doing?”
He shrugged.
Great, he’d learned a new nonverbal way of communicating. That was exactly what he needed.
She threw another Lightning bolt at him. And another. And another. All had the sa result, fizzling against his shield.
There wasn’t much she could do about it. Even if he was burning more qi per strike than her, it wasn’t by much, and she’d run out long before him.
Kang Lin tightened her hands around her spear, frustrated at the situation. Frustrated at him.
She sent another bolt.
It struck his chest, leaving a burn mark on his robe. He visibly winced.
“What happened?” she said. “You surely have qi left.”
“I disabled my shield.”
“Why would you do sothing so stupid in the middle of a match? Idiot!”
“It seed like you wanted to hit , not my shield?”
That man was absolutely ridiculous.
She sent another bolt, striking him again. That one burned through his robe and left a black mark on his chest.
And another.
He collapsed onto one knee.
“What are you doing?” she yelled.
“Being electrocuted.”
“Why?”
He shrugged again.
“You think this is what I want?” she said. “For you to just let hit you. Let hurt you.”
“This hurt is nothing.”
His words felt like he’d physically struck her as she knew exactly what he ant. Compared to how much her leaving him had hurt, being hit by lightning was nothing.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said, much more softly.
“For months, I’ve been trying to figure out what you want. I still have no idea.”
“Right now, I want you to fight .”
“No.”
“No?” she said, not understanding what he ant at all.
“No.”
“You won’t fight ?” she said. “We’re in the middle of a tournant match.”
Again, he shrugged. She found it to be even more annoying than his grunts and sent another bolt of Lightning.
After it hit, he had to put down one hand on the ground, clearly in pain. She didn’t know who felt worse—her or him.
“That’s it,” she said. “I’m done hurting you.”
He lifted his head and showed the most joyful expression imaginable on his face. “You’ll co back to ?”
“What? No! Why did you…” It took her a mont to put together the sequence of events, replaying what she’d said. “I ant that I’m done hurting you with Lightning.”
“Oh.”
Kang Lin didn’t think she could possibly feel any worse, but that one syllable sohow managed to bring her lower than she’d ever been.
“Get up and fight,” she said.
“No.”
“You don’t need . You have those other girls.”
Why in the world had she brought up that subject? For one thing, it was none of her business. For another, she wanted him to move on.
“Yang Xiu forced to do that,” he said.
It was her turn to say, “Oh.”
Honestly, she should have realized that. Yang Xiu interfering was a much more likely explanation for his behavior than him suddenly becoming a social butterfly.
“Can you please just tell what I did wrong?” he said. “Whatever it is, I promise I’ll try to fix it. I swear.”
Heavens. He was tearing her heart out. Which, honestly, she deserved.
“Fight ,” she said.
“No.”
“Fight !”
He sighed, and for a mont, she thought he would rise to his feet and charge her. Instead, he looked directly at the official and said, “I resign.”
And that was it. The match was over. She was one of the top eight.
Never had she achieved sothing she felt that she deserved less.
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