Skyfire Avenue

The projector cast images of the ring against the far wall of the classroom. All the students fixed their eyes upon the heroic, masked figure of their drillmaster.

“He’ll win it!” No one knew who said, but they all joined in triumphant cry.

“He’ll win it!”

ζ

Lan Jue stood in the ring once again, allowing the feel of the place to flow through him. His heart eased in to a comfortable silence. There was the faintest hint of electrical light behind his eyes. Even though the fight was yet to begin, he could feel the oppressive pressure from Qi Mu’s Discipline. And that’s exactly what he was looking for!

“Three, two, one. Begin!”

As the buzzer sounded, Lan Jue stood tall and straight. Suddenly he seemed bigger… Not his body, necessarily, but his presence seemed to swell. Meanwhile, Qi Mu quickly shifted to only his first form. He seemed unconcerned about this fight.

Lan Jue wasn’t annoyed by the slight. He switched up his tactics, like he had before. He did not immediately rush in to the Forest of Lightning. Instead he raced to the center of the ring along with Qi Mu. Although Zeus didn’t seem all that fast, by the time Qi Mu reached the center he was already waiting for him there. The Monarch was wreathed in crackling purple lightning that hugged close. This was his armor, protecting him from harm.

Qi Mu sprang forward and wickedly swiped at Zeus. His claws ripped through the air so quickly that shuddering air rippled visibly from their path. His tactics were straight domination, made possible by a superior Discipline.

But Qi Mu didn’t understand why he didn’t use his powers to block the attack? He just stepped to the side, lazily sidestepping the blow. The mercenary’s right hand swung around for a strike.

Qi Mu still looked down upon his opponent. Nothing he’d seen in any of the previous fights had convinced him that this upstart could prove to be a challenge.

“Bang!” Lan Jue’s fist found its target, and Qi Mu was viciously blasted to the ground. Thousands of volts raced throughout the wolf’s body.

This…

The audience saw it plain as day and it nearly sent their eyes rolling out of their heads. Was this for real? He was supposed to be the weakest one of the group.

The classroom tucked away in the NEU shook with cheers. Watching their teacher put the dog down was like doing it themselves.

Mo Xiao was likewise shocked, and gasped from the viewing platform. “Is that martial arts?”

The Terminator’s eyebrows had risen a few degrees, but he said nothing. It was Metatron, seated behind him, that really felt the shock of what they saw. He knew that move.

One of the Nine Strikes of Taiji… Warding Fist Strike!

That was indeed Lan Jue’s first move. His intent was to knock his opponent off course – he hadn’t anticipated it would fire him in to the ground.

But this was a fight, he wasn’t going to waste the opportunity. He shot a foot out to tangle the wolf up. He remain flat on the floor ungracefully, tangled up in his own limbs. Though the wolf king had managed to shrug off the damage from the strike, but his body felt numb. He couldn’t dodge.

Lan Jue clapped both hands together and raised them overhead. The lightning energy from all around him condensed to a point between his clenched fists. He brought them down to the sound of crackling electricity and purple flashes, right on his enemy’s spine.

Qi Mu was a young darling of the Dark Citadel. He wouldn’t take this lying down, and so he quickly broke in to his second transformation.

The second shift increased his defenses, with a red-gold glow that hung over him. Qi Mu couldn’t dodge, so he flexed the muscles of his back to ward off the strike.

“Boom–!” The thunderous explosion shook the arena. Qi Mu thought his second transformation would be enough, but he felt the weight of a mountain come crashing down on his back.

When he felt the energy first slip passed his defenses and in to him, it felt almost gentle. However, he could sense the strange sensation within this energy, where it gathered up and set his own energies in disarray. His second transformation had saved him from a painful injury. This time he avoided damage, but was thrown to the ground again.

Two strikes, and twice his enemy hit the ground! You could have asked anyone and they would have scoffed at the prospect, but now they weren’t sure. Did Qi Mu get weaker, or was Zeus stronger than they thought?

Downward Punch! A powerful Taiji strike.

Lan Jue had to acknowledge his opponent’s defense. He was a second rank, but his strikes were hard enough to shatter a third rank opponent. His attacks were empowered by the principles of Taiji which made them even stronger. But even with this he couldn’t surpass Qi Mu’s guard.

Qi Mu was on the ground, but not as helpless as before. He shuddered with a deep growl and the golden light surrounding him swelled to force the insidious lightning out. This was the advantage of his superior Discipline. The wolf urged himself in to an ungraceful roll out of the way.

Lan Jue, though, had a wealth of combat experience to draw from. He wouldn’t give up his advantage so easily. As Qi Mu tried to roll away, Zeus released the lightning coiling around him. It became a brilliant gold and fired off in all directions. In the same instant, he forced his palms toward his foe, and a column of golden lightning consumed Qi Mu.

“B-boom-boom b-b-boom….” A series of fierce attacks laid in to Qi Mu. The Wolf King was stronger than Lan Jue, but couldn’t match his speed. This put him in a very unenviable position. Under the onslaught he had to use his Force abilities to protect himself. The last two strikes had also affected his meridians. He fell to the floor for a third time.

Lan Jue flashed around Qi Mu, peppering him with attacks. He was too fast, almost faster than the audience could follow. At second rank he could no longer reach light speed, but lightning was still plenty fast. His yang-nature Discipline and the nine strikes of Taiji had Qi Mu on the ropes.

Qi Mu waited for the cooldown. Lan Jue’s rank was lower, so he had to come out for air eventually. Of course, he didn’t know of the phylactery stone nestled in the flesh of Zeus’ left hand. He could keep this up as long as he needed. He was like a relentless battering ram, and that’s what made him a competitor.

The audience watched in abject shock as the bearer of their hopes, Qi Mu, was brutally beat down. Qi Mu could only try to protect himself from the thunderstorm.

Lan Jue was too fast, and only a few of the onlookers were able to pick out the specifics of his strikes. Again and again the wolf was hit, and fell. Each time a peal of thunder followed.

In the VIP box.

Chu Cheng watched with mouth agape. “Goddamn! I’m gunna wet my pants here in a second.”

Lina Lee looked just as confused. “What the hell is he?!”

Only Hua Li watched with a knowing smile. He jabbed his fists as though he were in the ring himself.

Lan Jue had taken the advantage of underestimation and turned it in to a crushing assault. In the last minute, he’d laid Qi Mu out with over a hundred blows. Qi Mu could only manage half-hearted reposts, but was unable to land any. Crafty! Zeus’ attacks had a numbing effect that made the whole ordeal harder. Qi Mu was strong, but not at the same level as Titan. He couldn’t stop it. His lightning played directly against the wolf’s speed, and under the incessant assault he was losing strength.

“Bastard!” Qi Mu roared. He reared up, and a blood-red light sprang out from around him. He met Lan Jue’s next strike, the Fist of the Seven Stars, without hesitation.

The seven-star strike laid in to the wolf, and he was swallowed in to a sea of lightning. This time, he didn’t fall.