Rebirth and Reincarnation 1st Arc

Age 13. The Martial Arts Competition (Day 2)

The second day of the martial arts competition was a bit better, because only the winners of the previous day could participate.

My first bout was against an 18-year-old named Zhao Yu. He stared warily at me while I kept my hands on my back.

"Begin!"

We measured each other, looking for openings. The previous day I had been using the serpent stance, so it was a surprise for him when I switched for tiger and went for him with my legs.

He stopped my downward kick, but the strength behind it still brought him to his knees. I took half a step back and hit him with a round house kick which he barely blocked.

Being in close quarters was an advantage for him, so he launched a fist my way and I blocked it with a knee.

I backtracked, trying to keep my distance but, battered as he was, he wasn't going to let me gain the upper hand again, so he pursued me. I took him on a merry ride around the platform, blocking or evading all his attacks until we were at the limit of the arena. Stepping out would mean disqualification, which gave him the notion that he could win simply by pushing me.

Poor guy.

He tried tackling me, and before he struck, I used the earth-breathing technique, anchoring my position to the ground.

For him it was probably like tackling a wall headfirst.

There was complete silence in the arena until I took a step forward, pushing the knocked-out boy away from me.

I looked up, waiting for the referee, who finally came out of his stupor to declare "Winner, Shen Mu!"

I breathed out, relaxing my back and arms and bowed to my downed opponent, before directing a more profound bow to the emperor watching from above.

As I jumped down from the platform, I found myself surrounded by a group of children. Ages varying from ten to fifteen, they stared at me with awe and began asking me question after question after question.

"How did you become so strong?"

"Why won't you use your hands at all?"

"Can you use your hands?"

"Where do you live?"

"Who are your parents?"

I tried answering their questions as I heard them, except for those directly related to the strategy Master Fa had devised.

"You really are a sensation." The cultured, feminine voice made me turn to find Bai Fan smiling wickedly at me.

"Miss Bai Fan, it's a pleasure to see you today. At what deity do I owe the honor?"

She laughed prettily, turning the heads of many of the males.

"Can I not come to watch a friend compete?" she teased, and it was my turn to laugh.

"Woe be me, if I dared to forbid you anything." Our friendly banter was interrupted by the arrival of the Imperial princes, Heng Li and Meiling. The latter was openly glaring at the older Bai Fan.

"Alas! It seems that is my cue to leave. Good luck in your next bout!" She curtsied to the new arrivals "Your majesties."

The rest of the kids appeared rather intimidated by the princes and their entourage, so they bade me luck in the next fight and retreated.

"I didn't know you knew miss Bai" Li mused out loud.

"We met at the calligraphy competition." I smiled remembering our chat on the way to see the emperor.