Severing Time & Space

Wu Jian's First Fight

Sharing a grin between themselves, Wu Jian and Wu Meiying let go of the blushing Hou Jingshu. The three of them went to find Wu Jian’s father. He was looking down at the arena floor, which now sported four official looking rings made of stone, but he looked at them when they arrived.

“You look like you have something to say. Well? Speak up and tell me what’s on your mind,” he commanded.

“We have something to tell you about Elder Wu Wei, Father,” Wu Jian said. He informed Father about what he had seen, about the conversation they had overheard. Father’s expression as Wu Jian told him that Wu Wei and Ming Han were working together and had bribed a Zhou Clan elder made his expression turn grave.

“I see. It looks like Elder Wu Wei has become quite bold to have a clandestine meeting with the cland head of a rival clan in the middle of the day.” Father paused for a moment. “You were right to not take matters into your own hands and tell me this. Focus on your fights and leave this matter to me.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Sure thing, Uncle.”

“We will leave this issue to you, Lord Wu.”

Each of the children said something and backed away as Father walked over to Mother and Wu Taohua. He began speaking, gesturing to them every so often, which caused the two women to look their way. Mother and Wu Taohua nodded several times before Wu Taohua left the viewing booth.

Not long after they informed Father of what they had discovered, Zhou Zu called all the contestants back down to the arena. The trio split up and traveled to their respective rings. Each ring had a Zhou Clan elder waiting for them. The one at ring four was a man with graying hair, wrinkles lining his eyes, and a proud bearing that made him seem a touch arrogant. Eleven others stood in the group with Wu Jian.

“Your brackets have been decided. Take a look here.” The elder pointed to a board, which had their names listed on them. “This is who you will fight and the order you will fight in.”

Wu Jian’s name was in the first bracket. The other person in his bracket was Wu Jing.

So I’m fighting against my own clansmen…

Wu Jian narrowed his eyes. It was unusual to fight against one’s own clansmen during the initial stages of the tournament. The Zhou Clan avoided doing that during the last tournament. Granted, that might have been because there weren’t as many clansmen participating, but he also wondered if maybe this was part of Ming Han’s plan. Perhaps he planned on having Wu Jian cull his enemies for him.

Nothing could be done about it either way, so Wu Jian hopped onto the ring as the other contestant climbed on from the opposite side.

Wu Jing was a fifteen year-old boy who was ranked third among the older Wu clansmen. He had the same dark hair and dark eyes as everyone else, but his skin was darker as well. His mother, Wu June, was from the Qing Province, a desert nation known for its scorching heat and large swaths of sand.

“I didn’t think we would be fighting so soon,” Wu Jing said.

“Neither did I, but let’s make this match a good one,” Wu Jian said with an easy smile as he stuck out his hand and clenched it into a fist. Wu Jing stared at the hand for a moment, then made a fist and bumped it against his.

“Yeah. Let’s.”

“Are both contestants ready?” asked the Zhou Clan elder. They nodded. “Very good. Bow to me. Bow to your families. Now, bow to each other.” Wu Jian and Wu Jing did exactly as they were instructed, then adopted a martial arts stance and faced each other. The elder raised his hand. He waited a second, then brought it down. “Fight!”

Wu Jian darted forward the moment the fight began, forgoing his normal wait and see approach. He launched several swift jabs at Wu Jing’s face that were designed to test the older boy’s reflexes. His opponent stepped back and used the back of his hands to divert each of Wu Jian’s strikes, proving that he had great reflexes, timing, and hand to eye coordination.

Shuffling along the ground, Wu Jian took two steps forward, spun on the balls of his left foot, and threw a kick at Wu Jing’s stomach. It was dodged entirely as the boy leapt to the side. His opponent tried to counter, but Wu Jian retracted his leg and backed off.

“You’re very fast,” Wu Jing observed. “I noticed that at the training hall. But I didn’t realize you were also so strong. I guess that six thousand strength rating isn’t just for show.”

Wu Jian smiled. “You’re also pretty good. With Wu Hong gone, you might be one of the strongest youths in the clan.”

“I don’t think I am much stronger than you though,” Wu Jing admitted.

Wu Jing’s strength during the last strength test had been 6,524, over five hundred points above Wu Jian’s. He had probably gotten stronger since then too. While Wu Jian was confident he had also become stronger, Wu Jing had the advantage of age and experience over him.

This was going to be an uphill battle.

Narrowing his eyes, Wu Jian waded forward. He was about to attack, but Wu Jing beat him to the punch, launching a fist from his torso. It was a swift, brutal attack, but Wu Jian narrowly evaded the punch by tilting his body left. Rather than come back up and attack, he traveled further down, placed a hand on the ground for balance, and threw out a heel kick that Wu Jing caught with his forearms. Even though he blocked it, the attack was powerful enough to knock him back several steps.

“Hsss!” Wu Jing hissed as he shook out his arms. “You really are strong. I can’t afford to take another hit if I want to win.”

“Sorry, but I have no intention of letting you win. I have to meet Wu Meiying and Hou Jingshu in the finals and semifinals.”

“Ha ha. So you want to face your fiancées in the finals. I get you. However, are you sure they’ll win their matches? Wu Meiying will be fighting against Zhou Lihua and Juishi Meirin. Hou Jingshu is fighting against Ming Shen and Juishi Son. They’re all top-tier fighters and considered the strongest within their clans.”

“I have confidence in their abilities,” Wu Jian said. “And even if they didn’t make it to the finals, I still intend to win this year.”

“Then you’re going to have to get through me first.”

“That’s the plan.”

Despite their taunting, both of them smiled as they once more exchanged fists. Wu Jing and Wu Jian were not only from the same clan but were on relatively friendly terms. Neither of them had spoken much, but they respected each other because of their strength.

Wu Jian diverted a punch with the back of his left hand. He rotated his wrist and grabbed the now outstretched arm, spun around, and used his body as a lever to toss Wu Jing through the air. His opponent flipped his body around and landed in a crouch. Before he could recover, however, Wu Jian was there, launching a powerful kick that caught him in the chest. The other boy managed to get his arms up in time to block, but he was launched clear out of the ring.

Landing on the ground outside of the ring, Wu Jing huffed and looked up. “I see what you did. You threw me so I’d be close to the ring’s edge and launched a kick before I could recover so I’d get thrown off the arena.”

Wu Jian shrugged. “It was the only thing I could think of to avoid either of us getting injured.”

“Smart,” Wu Jing said with a smile.

The Zhou Clan elder raised his hand. “Victory goes to Wu Jian!”