Chapter 188: Bo vs Hui - Grand Divide.
"I'm stuffed…" Shu He murmured as the three of them walked along the street, they had been wandering for an hour now while grabbing various different foodstuffs, they had even come across the famous food cart belonging to the Dao partners Yin Xiuying & Tang Ju as they were selling a new recipe, said recipe is what Little Xue was currently gobbling down, a bake containing unique meats and vegetables with strong elemental attunement, apparently they want it to become a staple over in the capital so they're hoping for its success.
Based on how many the little girl next to him is scoffing down, he thinks it's a success, but the damage to his wallet definitely wasn't something great, luckily Yun Jiang pitched in to feed her or he'd be absolutely broke by now.
"Are you satisfied yet?" Shu He asked with an awkward smile on his face, she had easily eaten five times more than him, yet she wasn't slowing down. Little Xue swallowed one of the bakes whole and gulped it down before turning to him and pondering, patting her stomach.
"Maybe?" She tilted her head, unsure.
'This has to be because of her unique constitution, even if she is a spirit beast there's no way she could eat this much! I hope she won't need this much food to function properly…' Shu He thought to himself with worry, at the very least based on that fact she wasn't starving he believed she was just eating out of desire and not necessity right now.
"Hehe, looks like you'll need to earn a lot more points in the future Shu He or you'll end up starving" Yun Jiang chuckled "By the way, should we head over to the arena? I've heard there's some commotion over there, it might be interesting" he then suggested.
"Arena? People are using it at this time of night?" Shu He said, surprised; Yun Jiang was referring to the arena that was dubbed 'Arena of Grudges', the same arena that he had first witnessed Jin Bao being beaten to a pulp by Mei Ling.
Yun Jiang shrugged his shoulders "A grudge doesn't wait for the right time or place, either way it'll make for some nice post meal entertainment, shall we?".
Shu He felt a tug on his robe as he turned to Little Xue who was looking at him curiously. "What's that? Arena?" she asked, hands and mouth still covered in grease. "Come here…" Shu He pulled out a small cloth to clean her up before standing back up "It's a place that people fight each-other, but they don't actually harm one another" was how he explained it to her.
"Oh" her little eyebrows furrowed "Why?" she looked up at Shu He, her eyes filled with curiosity.
Shu He paused for a moment, not expecting to be asked such a question. Really, why do people fight each-other? It was a perfectly normal question, yet it felt like an odd one to ask in this world to Shu He.
"There are too many reasons, maybe there was a disagreement, maybe one person insulted another, maybe it's a bet over an item or maybe it's just for fun" He explained, but there were so many reasons he wasn't able to list them all, it seemed that through their link Little Xue understood this as she nodded slightly.
"Don't get it…" or not, Shu He at the same time could understand her at a deeper level than just her words, he could feel the confusion she had, she could understand competing over something like food or a mate, they were needed to survive and breed after all, but fighting over an insult, or for fun, made no sense to her.
Why would you fight if you didn't need to? Was the question she was trying to ask.
Shu He patted her on the head as he smiled gently "It's fine, I too think it's better to not fight at all". She looked up at him and nodded lightly.
"Let's get going! We'll miss out if we're late!" Yun Jiang went ahead with his gourd of alcohol in hand, his red face filled with a grin, the two of them watched him run along as Shu He murmured "Just don't be an adult like that, okay?".
…
"I wonder who will win this round?" Someone from the crowd whispered.
"It's one to one, it's either of their game! Tch, if only I was here sooner I could have gotten in on the bets".
"At least you didn't bet on Ming Shi, that idiot gloated he would win today, and some fools took him seriously ahahahaha".
"Which of you said that?! Say it to my face bastards I'll shut your mouth for you!"
"Maybe you should keep your own shut first pffftahahahahahah!".
"That's it, come here you drunk fool!"
"Oi, someone shut that idiot up we've got a fight to watch!".
The crowd was lively as they arrived, nearly a hundred people were gathered around the small arena as they clutched papers that were clearly betting slits, based on how organised it was, it was clear that this was a usual occurrence.
"Shu He, over here!" Yun Jiang called him over as he sat on an elevated bench, how he managed to secure a bench to himself despite the crowd made Shu He suspicious, but he still went over and sat down with Little Xue next to him.
"So? Which idiots are fighting this time?" He said with a sigh as he took a sip from the simple clay cup he had in his hand that contained water; they hadn't made it in time for the bets unfortunately so he couldn't make some extra points.
"Take a look yourself, it probably won't surprise you" Yun Jiang gulped down some more alcohol, Shu He wondered just how much that gourd could hold, or whether he had managed to sneakily fill it multiple times as they'd moved along.
Shu He had been relaxing without extending his territory so he ended up relying on his eyes to peer over at the stage as soon as he saw who it was he couldn't help but sigh once more "What are those two doing…? Don't they have a better place to fight?".
Inside the ring was a large figure with a cleanly bald head, his muscles were bulging like a chiselled statue of a god as he stood with his arms crossed and a grin plastered on his face, on the opposite side of the arena was a slenderer muscular style figure with long fine black hair and a handsome face, yet his expression was filled with a fiery grin much the same.
"I hadn't seen him since I came back, yet he's still the same as ever…" Shu He lent on his palms, Little Xue next to him pointed at the stage as asked "Who?" after feeling the familiarity from Shu He through the link.
"The one on the right, the one with the big shiny head, he's Gang Bo and he came to the sect with me so he's someone I'm close with… on the other side is a person called Tai Hui… well, just try not to get involved with him." He hadn't seen either of them since he had returned, but they hadn't changed much since he left.
They spent most of their days within the Combat division fighting their way to the top of the rankings, Tai Hui has been dubbed the 'Young Weapons Master' through his obsessive use of every weapon that found its way into his hands, not matter what it was he'd spend weeks on end practicing without sleep and without the weapon leaving his hands like it was a long-lost lover, he was without a doubt a rising star in the sect.
On the other hand Gang Bo was the Sect Master's direct disciple putting him under scrutiny of the senior disciples, especially the core disciples that had coveted that position, thus he had been working harder than anyone else to prove his status, he had risen to the top 10 of the rankings already, even though core disciples were exempt from the combat ranking, it was still incredibly impressive!
In terms of strength, he had outclassed Shu He by multiple times already… though strength isn't the only thing that matters in battle of course.
Tai Hui and Gang Bo, the two of them had become rivals because of their similar age, their same entry period to the sect, and their similar choices for divisions, Tai Hui was a technical fighter while Gang Bo was a brute force fighter, so they made great grindstones for one another, them fighting wasn't anything new, it was just that they rarely did it out in public like this.
"Gang Bo, you better not lose!" A young man yelled out from the crowd, Shu He managed to recognise him as he grinned lightly, the young man was Ming Shi, he seemed to hold a one-sided rivalry with Gang Bo and ever since he lost to him in the Newcomers Tournament has constantly challenged him.
Apparently he was from a up and coming cultivation family that specialised in the Metal element, so it wasn't a surprise that he held rivalry for Gang Bo who also specialised in the same element and was chosen as the sect master's disciple.
'Isn't it embarrassing to yell that after losing to him a little while ago?' Shu He couldn't help but think. Just then, the two in the arena seemed to start talking, unfortunately they couldn't quite hear from where they were sitting over the crowd, but that wasn't a problem for Shu He as he extended his territory and focused on his auditory sense.
"I can't believe I actually lost a round to you unarmed" Gang Bo grunted as he glared down at Tai Hui.
"I told you; I'm not going out easily today, this round is no different" Tai Hui replied with a grin.
"Hmph, I'll just break through your tricks, I'm not letting you walk away today with a victory!".
"That's not for you to decide! Today I'll be the one to win!"
They both yelled, their voiced booming over the crowd as the cheering began.
"They're starting!".
"Get that privileged bastard Tai Hui!"
"Flatten the pretty boy Gang Bo!".
"Why do I feel that the ones with the grudges are the crowd…" Shu He murmured as he listened to the heckling, just then the first contact was made.
*BANG*
Gang Bo's first collided with Tai Hui's cross guard, it seems Tai Hui tried to parry but Gang Bo shifted his stance at the last second showing an expert control over his centre of gravity.
It was to be said, there was no techniques in the Arena of Grudges, the arena supressed Qi inside the body meaning it was essentially a fight between cultivators of the second level, no weapons were allowed either, it was all physical force!
*Whoosh!*
Gang Bo swept his leg through the air as Tai Hui barely avoided it by crouching, he then went to grab the leg from beneath in order to topple Gang Bo, yet the leg was as solid as trunk! Before he knew it, Gang Bo's foot was stomping straight towards his head!
*DOOOM!*
The ground shook lightly as the slab beneath his foot cracked through his sheer brute strength, Tai Hui rolled away as he regained his stance.
"What? Not going for the eyes this time?" Gang Bo gloated.
"You should know I'm not stupid enough to go for the same move twice" Tai Hui replied as he spat out a little dirt that had gotten in his mouth.
Yun Jiang stroked his beard as he watched with a smile "Tai Hui has a real disadvantage; I wonder why he agreed to fight with no weapons which are his specialty?".
"That lunatic probably thinks of his own body as a weapon, Gang Bo is a perfect whetstone for him to practice, since he's at such a disadvantage it makes him work even harder." Shu He answered, he knew Tai Hui's logic wasn't wrong, he just found the level of obsessiveness of Tai Hui over the top.
The fight kept going back and forth, Tai Hui would aim for a weakness such as the eardrums, heel, testicles or such yet Gang Bo would power through his approaches, yet when Gang Bo attacked, he was either blocked or avoided.
If it went on like this, Tai Hui would without a doubt be the loser as guarding didn't block all the damage, even now his arms and legs seemed to be swelling slightly, each of Gang Bo's strikes were like being hit with a sledge hammer after all.
"Seems I'm not quite there yet" said Tai Hui as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Yeah, I need to do better as well" Gang Bo cracked his neck and knuckles before he stood a stance that he hadn't shown before, his right arm and hand as straight as a sword "Since this is your going away party, I'll show you some of my progress" he said as his muscles began bulging.
"?!" Tai Hui immediately felt the hairs on his neck stand to attention, his lax mood was wiped away.
"Those behind you, move" Gang Bo's voice felt as deep as a chasm, his words causing those outside the arena to panic as they moved from behind Tai Hui.
'What's he doing?' Shu He frowned, the arena supressed Qi so he shouldn't be able to use techniques, but through his eyes he could see Gang Bo's muscles and body become vitalised, as if they were preparing for such.
It wasn't just him, many spectators were also confused, yet none of them doubted his warning.
Most certainly not Tai Hui.
And then, his arm fell like a sword, the air was blasted away from the arena as some spectators toppled over-
*DOOOOOM*
Gravel flew everywhere, an unintentional scream slipped from a male cultivator as others yelled in surprise, after a second it was over and a thin veil of dust covered the arena, but even that only lasted a few seconds as it came in to view, the arena was changed.
From where Gang Bo stood, for about 10 meters forward was a large groove that bore through the hard stone and even broke through the arena's boundary striking where the audience once stood, to the left of the groove Tai Hui stood with sweat dripping from his brow as his neck turned back to Gang Bo like a rusty door.
"Titanic Art – Grand Divide… crazy bastard, you can do that without Qi?!" His teeth almost chattered as he asked Gang Bo "If your aim wasn't slightly off I'd be crushed!".
"Heh, I wouldn't hurt you with a present, would I?" Gang Bo replied with a grin.
Tai Hui fell back on to his butt as he breathed with relief "I forfeit".
The crowd went wild, not because of the match outcome, but because of the sheer level of accomplishment that Gang Bo had just shown!
"Everyone's growing fast…" Murmured Shu He as he watched on from the distance.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone