Druidic Cultivation | Thirty-Six

He lost. This was his third life, according to Aideen at least, but it was the first loss that he could remember. Even when he was a young sapling with a sprawling root system, draining the energy and nutrients from every other plant on his mountain, he’d never lost a battle. Unless, of course, you counted the snake that Aideen rescued him from. Countless other predators had tried to approach him in the years that Aideen lived within his branches and each time he’d fended them off and stolen a victory. Lions who were visiting his forest, giant birds who flew through the sky and observed his majesty, even humans who had no right intruding on his land thought they could chop him down and craft a weapon from his trunk. 

This time, however, he’d been defeated by a dark horse named Ma Heise. Jiao spat dirt from his mouth as he walked away from his opponent, careful not to make it look like he was spitting at the idea of Ma Heise. Although he’d been defeated, Feng Jiao knew that it was nobody’s fault than his own. He’d underestimated his opponent due to his presentation and clothing, believing that the only people who could beat him in combat would be wealthy children who brute forced their way through the awakening stages with medications and pills. 

Jiao, who’d been reincarnated from a world tree and had lived as a druid before that, should have known that wealth was not the only way to progress through the road of hallowed arts. Even when he’d reincarnated with his memories he’d acknowledged that if he were able to have the willpower to do it, others could too. Still, he’d never expected to meet somebody as fortitudinous than himself. It was obvious to Jiao he’d been suppressed by his opponent’s realm of cultivation but he wasn’t going to leave it at that.

Now that they were progressing to the semi-finals and there would only be one set of matches before the loser’s bracket, the Overseers allowed for a thirty minute break before the losers’ bracket began. Jiao saw this as a marked advantage because, although some of the previous rounds had lasted for more than thirty minutes, most matches were finished within twenty minutes. Although Feng Jiao did not relish the opportunity to fight in the bottom bracket he was thankful that he could do so under such conditions. 

Rather than check who his opponent was going to be, Jiao sat next to his smiling father and near-comatose uncle nursing his ribs during the second and last set of matches for the quarter finals. The second round of the quarter finals finished up within ten minutes and the thirty minute incense started burning, signaling to those who would be fighting for their second chances to prepare themselves.

Looking up, Jiao saw that the sun was very close to setting and remembered that the awakening tourney took place over a three day period. The first day was dedicated to the boys fighting, the second the girls, and the third was the finale of top ten against top ten. The next day would open with the losing bracket victor having the right to challenge any of the top ten to compete for their place. That was when Feng Jiao planned on getting his pay back.

Jiao had long since stopped paying attention to his opponent’s name ahead of the match, which is why he was surprised to see a familiar face in front of him when it was finally time for him to fight. The quarter-final loser’s bracket also consisted of two rounds, four matches each round, for a total of sixteen competitors. The eight who’d just been dropped from the quarter finals into this bracket would have to battle against the eight who’d fought their way up to the front of the loser’s bracket. 

“I’ve been waiting for this opportunity all day, Feng Jiao.” With a slight bow, Jixiang Yun greeted Jiao. Contrary to the last time they’d clashed, during the first round of the tourney, Yun seemed to lack all of the arrogance he’d been inflated with previously. “I would like to apologise for the way I spoke during our match. After you defeated me and humiliated me in front of the entire arena, I realized the error of my ways. I’ll never look down on an opponent before fight them again.” Yun stood there with new scratches and scars from his previous battles. 

Jiao had watched Yun slaughter his way through the losing bracket with a slight amount of amusement, really enjoying it when he saw the boy crush his cousin Feng Lou. Although there was only a ⅛ chance of the two facing off again in the losing bracket but there they were, staring each other down. Actually, thinking back on it, it wasn’t really randomized at all. Everybody that Feng Jiao had defeated went up against Yun and got pushed into the dirt. Internally, Jiao facepalmed for not realizing this sooner. Externally, he smiled and returned Yun’s bow as a sign of respect.

“Now that I am in the bottom bracket with you, I can understand your motivation for striving to get this far. I can respect that you struggled up the ladder in order to face off with me, but this is where your journey ends. You see, you might want to get your revenge and prove yourself, but so do I and now you stand in my way once more.”

“Junior Competitor Feng, I don’t think you understand my resolve. I will always respect you for teaching me a lesson regarding my arrogance, but I will crush you here and now, just like I did your clansmen Feng Lou. Enough with the words, prepare yourself for defeat.” Jixiang Yun unsheathed his sword, which he had avoided using since losing to Feng Jiao, and did a twirl with his wrist in an attempt to intimidate his opponent. 

Jiao observed his ostentatious presentation of his sword twirling skills and slowly chuckled to himself. If Jixiang Yun thought that Jiao was going to be pressed down by a parade skill like sword twirling, he hadn’t been paying attention to their first match. Jiao withdrew his quarterstaff from his inventory rang and did a staff-spinning dance in response, one where he,with one hand, twirled the heavy staff around his arm from his wrist to his forearm and then around dhis back before re-capturing the rotating staff and pointing it at his opponent. Although Yun’s display had been slightly pretentious, Jiao was still not willing to be outdone. 

Observing the grudge match between Jiao and Yun, a rivalship set during their first battle, the crowd went wild with enthusiasm and excitement about the battle. Whether it was Jiao or Yun, neither of the two paid any attention to spectators, each only enthusiastic about the chance to prove themselves against the other, once and for all. This loser’s bracket would consist of two matches, each with four battles at a time, but Jiao vs Yun was the only grudge match present. In all eight other battles, the new contestant to the loser’s bracket had long since lost track of the opponent they’d defeated, due to each being dropped during their first or second battle of the loser’s bracket. 

The only rematch in the entire round was Feng Jiao vs Jixiang Yun which led to massive amounts of new bets. The beginning of the match was drawn out for a few minutes as bookies traveled the rows of spectators, recording bets on who the victor of the match would be. On one hand, Jiao had already thoroughly defeated Yun with a single strike, knocking the boy unconscious with a back hand. On the other, Jixiang Yun hadn’t taken his opponent seriously and had let his guard down before the match started. Many people bet on Jiao claiming victory a second time and, at the same time, nearly half of the crowd thought that Yun would perform better after knowing the strength of his opponent. 

After the bets were recorded and all spectators had been given the chance to place said bets, the gong finally sounded out to alert the crowd to the beginning of the battle. For a second, nobody moved in Jiao’s quarter of the stage. He stared down Jixiang Yun even as the once-defeated boy stared back at him, neither eager to make the first move. 

“I won’t underestimate you a second time, Feng Jiao.” exclaimed the one-time loser named Jixiang Yun. True to his word, the boy didn’t rush to attack as he had the first battle and instead waited for Jiao to make the first move. If Jiao attacked and he managed to dodge, Yun would have the initiative and could claim the advantage in the battle, as opposed to the first battle. Naturally, Jiao was clued into his intentions and refused to make the first move.

Jiao’s entire fighting style rotated around avoiding his opponent’s attacks and retaliating with a swift slam or palm or, in the case that his weapon was out, staff strike. With that in mind, Jiao refused to make the first move and the two of them simply stared each other down. Even as the other three corners of the arena erupted in battle, Jiao and Yun shot lighting at each other with their eyes, neither willing to take the initiative. 

“What’s wrong, Feng Jiao? Are you too cowardly to throw the first strike? I, Jixiang Yun, am willing to allow you the first strike based entirely on the fact that I am older than you. I’ve been cultivating for years longer than you, it’s only fair to allow you the first attack. Come on, Feng Jiao, attack me for all that you’re worth. With any luck, you can try to strike me down in one hit yet again. What’s the matter? Are you incapable of scamming a victory from your superiors unless they move first? What kind of martial arts forces you to be on the defensive the entire battle, apart from the most cowardly of martial arts?”

Although Jixiang Yun said that he’d learned a lesson when it came to talking down his opponent until after the match, Feng Jiao highly doubted it. Just based on his current behavior, Jiao could see that Yun was just as much an arrogant swagger as he’d been during the first round of the tourney. Jixiang Yun was obviously not convinced that he’d lost due to a lack of skill and believed that he’d been caught by surprise, an incorrect assumption.

“Do people really talk like that? I thought only the arrogant villain from a bed-time story would chatter away with such un-deserve arrogance, Jixiang Yun. Regardless, I can now see that you’re nothing more than a paper tiger. Prepare yourself!” With that being said, Feng Jiao rushed forward while circulating Qi through his legs and arms in order to increase his speed.

The silence caused by the two parties staring each other down was broken by a staff smacking against a blunt iron sword. The crowd heart a smack, smack, smack, over and over again as the two weapons collided over and over. Both Jiao and Yun attempted to parry, swing, attack, dodge, and guard. Throughout the exchange, Yun found himself thoroughly suppressed, much the same way that Jiao had been beaten down step by step by Ma Heise. 

The spectators and overseers in charge of the match couldn’t help but compare the performance to Feng Jiao’s first match, where he’d knocked his opponent unconscious with a single blow, and be impressed by the change in status. Although Jixiang Yun was still on the losing side of the exchange he was able to express his competence far more than he’d done when blindsided by Feng Jiao. 

The exchange ended in Feng Jiao’s victory after he managed to duck under a particularly ambitious sword stroke, exposing his opponent's inexperience in battle. The crowd cheered, both for Jiao’s victory and the good match that Yun managed to give them. Although Yun had lost to Jiao once more, he’d managed to redeem himself in the eyes of most spectators, including the scouts for the sect he’d pledged. 

Jiao’s eyes searched the crowd until he managed to locate and settle upon his target, Ma Heise. Signalling his determination for a rematch, Jiao stared the other boy down for several breaths before descending from the stage to sit beside his father. If a third party had been paying attention, they could easily have drawn several parallels between Jiao’s behavior and Yun’s during the losing backet. Just like Jiao had stated, both of the boys were driven by their desire to prove themselves.