章節 94: Newcomers Tournament V - The Order.

Shu He stepped off the stage feeling like he had the wind taken out of sails, the cheers and chattering of the crowd drowning out other noises in his ears.

'Was I expecting too much?' He thought to himself, he had got himself hyped up from the previous matches and his future matches that he thought his opponent would have at least put up a fight.

He looked back at the stage, his opponent had exited the arena already since his loss meant he had dropped out of the tournament, technically he could stay and watch, but he obviously didn't feel like doing so.

'Maybe the people I've sparred with are just above average?' He had mostly trained with Gang Bo, but he had sparred with Bai Shun a few times over the years and had been beaten thoroughly each time, but he had at least learned to get a few hits in the last few rounds, now Shu He was realising that Bai Shun is nowhere near the standard he should use to measure other cultivators.

'Of course, he's managed to become a core disciple now; Why didn't I see that sooner?' He shook his head; it was only now that he had come to the sect that his perspective had broadened greatly.

'Well I should look on the bright side at least, I didn't really show my hand at all' He thought, a single salvo of arrows is a simple trick to him so having that being the final strike was ideal.

He returned to the tent to take his seat, normally there would be little chatter to the returning contestant since they'd need to recover but as soon as Shu He sat down he was jumped by three figures.

"Your archery has gotten even sharper hasn't it?" Gang Bo took a seat next to him while grinning.

"I didn't know you were so good with a bow! I learned the basics when I was younger but nothing more…" Wei Yu walked over to him.

"I knew my eyes wouldn't deceive me! A match with you will certainly be great!" Tai Hui patted him on the shoulder.

Shu He looked at the three and sighed.

"Gang Bo shouldn't you be preparing for your match?" He asked his large friend.

"Prepare? What do I need to prepare?" Gang Bo stared at him blankly.

"I mean like… mentally?"

"What? I'm not worried at all!" Gang Bo stated, a simple grin adorning his face.

"Is that so…" Shu He scratched his head.

'No point worrying about this lug' he shrugged in his head.

"Aren't you still recovering your Qi Tai Hui? And Wei Yu… well you're fine." He said, remembering that Wei Yu wasn't even a contestant.

"Hah, what I used in that match was a paltry amount I've recovered it already" Tai Hui waved it off.

"You don't have to rub it in that I'm not meant to be here…" Wei Yu looked a little depressed.

"That's not what I meant… ah well I want to ask something of you three since you're already here" Shu He sighed then remembered something before asking the three of them.

The three of them looked between each-other confused.

"What is it?" Wei Yu asked, taking the lead for some reason.

"Come closer" Shu He indicated for them to go off to the side and gather in a circle so others couldn't hear.

"What is it, being so secretive?" Tai Hui frowned.

"I wanted to ask you about Jin Bao" Shu He explained.

"Gathering intel on a future opponent? Are you that worried?" Tai Hui looked rather surprised.

"Tai Hui? Isn't that…" Gang Bo went to lift his head up and stare at the man before he was pulled back by Shu He.

"Idiot! Don't look or we'll attract his attention!"

"Oh right" Gang Bo rubbed his smooth head in embarrassment.

"And well… I'm not worried.. no well I am but not for that reason…" Shu He tried to explain without saying too much.

"What is it you want to ask then?" Wei Yu spoke quietly.

"Well, did any of you notice anything weird about his match just a while ago?"

"Weird in what way?" Tai Hui inquired, suddenly interested in the subject.

"Something you find abnormal, or odd".

"Hmm, he was certainly a lot stronger than he had been known for, I've heard a lot of my seniors dismissing him as a wastrel, barely able to compete with the average disciple before so his performance came as a surprise to me". Tai Hui explained, it was what Shu He had heard before, so he agreed.

"I didn't really notice much; he looks a bit pale" Gang Bo shook his head as he stopped himself from trying to take a peek again.

"I thought he had just pushed himself too far as well, but after that match…" Shu He bit his bottom lip in thought.

"You think it's something else Shu He? Should we tell an Elder?" Wei Yu asked giving the most reasonable reaction to the situation.

"I'm not sure right now, it's just a feeling I have; If It really gets out of hand I'm sure the elders or even the Sect Master will handle it swiftly".

"It's something that bad?" Tai Hui raised his brow "I'm sure that if you've noticed then an elder or higher would as well, no?"

"…Maybe" Shu He replied vaguely, he couldn't just reveal about his 'sight' here and now.

"Um, since you're saying this Shu He I'll speak as well, I didn't say it before because I felt I was being… delusional… but I felt… off when he started fighting earlier" Wei Yu spoke slightly nervously like he was expecting to be mocked.

Shu He's eyes gleamed slightly "What do you mean?"

"It felt like all of a sudden there was a weird chill in the air, like it was harder to breathe or something, I could tell the feeling originated from him" Wei Yu described the feeling he had at that moment.

Shu He's eyes narrowed "That's great, thanks for telling me".

"You believe me?" Wei Yu stared at him with disbelief.

"Yeah, I don't think you were imagining things at all." Shu He smiled while looking at his friend.

'Maybe his sensitivity to this sort of thing is high? I'll have to remember this in future' Shu He noted in the back of his mind.

…

"I must admit, when I heard that Chao Shi had given his recommendation token to a normal child he had found in a farming village I doubted my ears, but looking at this child now he certainly does have some talent with the bow" The Sect Master, Rong Jia spoke gently as she watched the young child walking off the stage with a whelmed expression filling his face.

"Bai Shun, compared to how he was when you last saw him, how is he?" She asked the young man stood off to the side of the group of elders sitting together.

"His archery is sharper than before, I had heard that no one had seen him practicing so I thought he might have gotten rusty, it's good I was wrong though" Bai Shun said, a slightly relieved smile on his face.

"To think that while you were preparing to become a core disciple you were also looking after a couple of potential disciples, even going as far to teach them some simple techniques after seeking permission, you did well; I wouldn't have a new disciple if not for you" The sect master said with praise.

"Not at all! I… only felt that it was my responsibility, since Chao Shi wasn't available to do so…" He played down his contributions, being praised by the Sect Master herself put a lot of pressure on him.

"That's right… I'll have to whip that idiot in to shape when he leaves seclusion" Rong Jia sighed.

"Enough about that, you all saw how strange the Jin scion was acting, correct?" She addressed all the elders near her.

A few of the elders nodded while the others looked unsure.

She sighed.

"If you don't notice when your own disciples are acting up how can you be called an elder!" She said with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Our Apologies, Sect Master!" The elders bowed their heads in unison.

"Make sure you pay more attention in the future!"

"Yes, Sect Master!"

"Now then, did Jin Bao leave the sect at all during the past two months?" She asked.

One elder came forward "We kept an eye on him past that incident, he has left the sect at separate times, and had one visitor."

"The one visitor was from the Jin clan, correct? I know about that, what were the reasons for leaving the other two times" She asked plainly.

"They were both for missions given by the sect".

"And what were those missions, who asked for them?"

"They came from different villages within the Steel region, one called Silvervein and the other Geodera, they were requests involving the subjugation of bandits and a local spirit beast."

Rong Jia's brows furrowed.

"Two unsuspecting villages with mortal populations, normally he wouldn't even need to go out on missions for points regularly with the support from his clan, even if it got cut off he would still be fine for at least a year based on his stocked-up points and resources…"

"What do you mean Sect Master?" An elder asked, confused as to why she was saying this stuff.

"He had no reason to go on a mission, and not only that when he did decide to do so, twice, he picked two missions that aren't particularly rewarding and would normally be ignored by most disciples". She explained further.

"Are you saying he had other motives?" One of the elders picked up on what she was talking about and jumped out of her seat.

"But it's not unusual for disciples to have other objectives when outside on missions right?" Another said with doubt.

"You're right, if that's all it was I wouldn't be talking about this though." Rong Jia glanced at the elder that just spoke as he recoiled with an apology.

"When he fought earlier I felt a certain 'something', and that is the main reason I'm looking into him right now; Do you all remember the Greengate incident years back that resulted in the death of one of our inner disciples?"

They nodded, the death of an inner disciple was an unusual occurrence, it would only happen every few years or so at most; that compounded with the involvement of black sects and an unusual substance marked it in the minds of all the elders.

"You think this might be connected?" Someone asked.

They all looked over and stared in surprise at Bai Shun who had addressed the Sect Master while they were all talking.

"This is a discussion between elders, you should stay silent." One of the elders kindly reminded him yet he didn't flinch, his eyes carried a cold aura that made him refuse to budge.

Rong Jia didn't admonish him, she could tell exactly what he was feeling.

"There's a chance, but I don't think Jin Bao is directly connected".

Bai Shun tilted his head "So he's just a recipient?"

"Something like that" Rong Jia nodded her head, the other elders no longer objecting his involvement in the conversation.

She then looked at them all and a sharp qi filled her eyes.

"Keep your eyes out, watch Jin Bao carefully, we will carry on with the tournament normally but at the first sign of something wrong, strike him down!" Chilly words pierced the ears of all listening, the orders had been given.