It didn't matter how long it had been since the teacher's voice rang out, "Meilan, out!", because it kept echoing in her mind, over and over again.
Meilan stood frozen, her cold expression breaking apart into one of dazed confusion. Her wide eyes trembled slightly as she tried to replay the last exchange with Sanye in her head, struggling to understand what had gone wrong.
While she was lost in thought, Sanye casually stretched his arms and twisted his back with a satisfied sigh.
"Ahh... First one out," he said cheerfully, enjoying the cracks in his joints. Glancing up at the clear blue sky, he added, "What a nice day," almost as if he hadn't just ended a duel.
After a moment, he lowered his gaze to Meilan, still standing in place, head bowed.
"Heh," he chuckled, shaking his head lightly.
"Thought I was some kind of honorable swordsman?" he asked her with a smirk. But Meilan didn't respond. Her silence dragged on, and the mood quickly turned awkward.
Sanye scratched the back of his head with one hand and let out a dry chuckle. "Tough crowd…"
When it became clear she wasn't going to answer, he finally turned away, his attention drifting toward the rest of the battlefield. His brow lifted in mild surprise.
"Huh. We really drifted far from the others," he muttered.
His eyes scanned the field more carefully now. The closest group to him was Anbo, who was still locked in battle with Tianyu and Yuxin. But that fight was clearly wearing all of them down.
Anbo's breathing had grown ragged, his robe soaked through with sweat. Even so, Tianyu looked worse. He was visibly struggling, shoulders heaving, footwork slowing, as he tried to protect both himself and Yuxin from Anbo's relentless offense.
"Oh? How unexpected. Two people struggling against one man? Didn't see that coming," Sanye remarked, genuinely surprised.
His eyes then wandered to the clash between Haodao and Haoran. It was obvious Haoran was nearly out of breath, his movements slowing. Meanwhile, Haodao was full of himself, mocking his brother repeatedly with energy to spare.
The difference in stamina between the two was clear.
Farther across the battlefield, Sanye spotted another fight, one boy against Jianhai and Yayang. The boy barely seemed to be sweating, calm and composed, but the same couldn't be said for Jianhai and Yayang. Both were nearly exhausted, their strikes losing speed and strength.
Sanye's eyes narrowed in disbelief.
"How...?" he murmured to himself. Jianhai and Yayang were both excellent swordsmen. Jianhai's strikes were strong and fierce, while Yayang's were fast and smooth.
Together, they were a deadly combination, fury and finesse and yet, they were being worn down by a boy no older than nine or ten?
"Impossible..." Sanye whispered, unable to come up with any other word. A flicker of unease crept into his chest, tightening his posture. The playful glint in his eyes, so evident during his match with Meilan, faded into a serious expression.
What now? he thought grimly. Do I help Jianhai and Yayang and take that boy down? Or go support Anbo and then the two of us take him together?
The more he considered his options, the more the second plan made sense. If he and Anbo joined forces first, they could take out Tianyu and Yuxin. Then, it would be four against one.
That would secure their victory and with Haodao wrapping up his fight soon, they'd surely overwhelm that boy and move on to the finals, then defeat Group Three.
With his mind made up, Sanye sprinted toward the fight between Anbo, Tianyu, and Yuxin. As he reached them, he slipped behind Yuxin and, without hesitation, launched a sudden strike.
Sanye's wooden sword aimed to pierce Yuxin, but at the last moment, the sound of his hurried footsteps gave him away. Tianyu caught a glimpse of a shadow moving behind Yuxin, just a flicker, a blur at the edge of his vision.
Without hesitation, he abandoned his clash with Anbo and struck at the figure.
The shadow resolved into Sanye.
Tianyu's already sharp eyes turned colder. With a sudden burst of speed, he intercepted Sanye's thrust, blocking it with his sword. Then, with his left hand, he struck Sanye across the face, hard, without mercy or restraint.
The entire exchange took no more than a few breaths. Sanye was thrown back from the force of the hit, staggering, but in doing so, Tianyu left his back exposed.
And who better to take advantage of such an opening than Anbo?
Anbo's gaze locked onto Tianyu's undefended back. A wide grin spread across his face as he raised his sword and swung with all his strength, convinced this was the final blow. In his eyes, victory was already his.
Tianyu realized the danger instantly. He could still move, but not enough. Dodging was impossible.
"This is it," he thought. "I'm out."
He stood still, accepting the outcome, but just as the wooden sword was about to strike him, a shout rang out, "Anbo, out!"
"Huh?" Anbo froze in confusion, his sword still touching Tianyu's back. He blinked, stunned, then glanced toward the teacher, a puzzled expression spreading across his face.
Did he hear wrong? Did the teacher mix up the names?
Then he felt it, something lightly poking at his own back.
He turned slowly.
Yuxin stood there, her wooden sword pressed gently between his shoulder blades.
His eyes widened in shock and realization.
Before he could speak, a sharp tsk echoed across the field. He looked toward the sound, Haodao, who had paused his assault for a moment to click his tongue in annoyance. The expression on Haodao's face said everything, Disappointment.
Then, without another word, Haodao turned back to his fight, resuming as if nothing had happened, but that single pause was enough to show exactly how he felt about Anbo's failure.
"Damn," Sanye muttered in shock as Anbo was called out. He pushed himself up from the ground and turned to face his two new opponents.
One of them, Tianyu, was already on the verge of collapse, while the other, Yuxin, still had some breath left in her.
Although both were clearly exhausted, Tianyu remained a skilled swordsman, and Yuxin could land a dangerous surprise attack if he failed to watch his back.
Gritting his teeth, Sanye took a stance. He raised his wooden sword above his left shoulder, then stepped forward forcefully, preparing to unleash a wide, sweeping half moon slash at Tianyu.
Tianyu reacted immediately, parrying with a quick strike of his own. He tried to lock Swords with Sanye, hoping to create an opening for Yuxin to strike. Just as he lunged forward.
Just as Tianyu lunged, Sanye turned his slash into a sudden thrust aimed at his stomach.
Tianyu tried to dodge, but pain flared through his legs before he could move. His breath hitched. His vision blurred for a moment.
He was too exhausted. His body couldn't keep up. Movements like these demanded not just physical strength, but intense focus and his mind was already worn thin.
He froze, just for a moment and in that instant, Sanye's sword tapped his stomach.
A triumphant smile spread across Sanye's face, but then, another touch. This time on Sanye's torso.
The teacher's voice rang out across the battlefield, "Tianyu, Sanye, out!"
Sanye stood still, stunned. Out? He blinked, confused, and turned his head to the side.
There she was, Yuxin, standing to his left, her sword lightly pressed against his side.
"Wow... how could I forget such an obvious flaw?" he muttered. "Why did I even go for that move?"
The more he questioned himself, the more dumbfounded he became. With a sigh, he let his sword drop and shook his head slowly.
"How disappointing," he murmured.
Then he looked again at Yuxin. She collapsed to her knees, gasping for air, completely spent. That final sneak attack had drained the last of her strength.
Not far away, Tianyu also dropped down, struggling to breathe. After a few rough gasps, his breathing began to calm.
Watching them both, Sanye could only shake his head, disappointment growing in his chest.
If I'd held out just a bit longer... I could've won.
Now, all he could do was watch.
He then looked away from the fallen pair, his eyes drifting back to the battlefield.
Only three youths remained in each group. Group Five still had Haodao, Yayang, and Jianhai, while Group Four was left with Yuan, Haoran, and Yuxin, though Yuxin was already out of commission, completely exhausted both physically and mentally.
Sanye realized this and muttered to himself, "Just a breath away from winning… but I wasn't careful enough. I underestimated that little girl. How foolish."
Resigned to what had happened, he sat down on the ground and turned his attention to the ongoing battles. As he watched Haoran and Haodao's fight, he noticed something strange.
Haodao was beginning to sweat more heavily. His breathing had grown rough, but Haoran wasn't doing much better, if anything, he looked worse. His eyes were struggling to stay focused, and his movements were sluggish.
"His body must be in pain," Sanye whispered to himself.
Then suddenly, just as Haoran looked like he was at his limit, barely dodging and trying to create distance, he launched a full-force attack.
The sudden shift shocked both Haodao and Sanye.
"Heh, giving it all in one last strike? Ha! How pathetic!" Haodao barked, enraged.
He met Haoran's wooden sword with a brutal swing of his own, shattering it on contact.
But instead of panicking, Haoran smiled.
In the next instant, he kicked Haodao's legs out from under him.
"Huh?" Haodao gasped, losing his balance and crashing to the ground. His gaze, still locked on Haoran, burned with rage.
But before he could rise, Haoran moved.
He stomped on Haodao's leg, pinning him down, standing tall, the broken sword still pointed at Haodao's neck, "I win, my dear little brother," Haoran said with a mocking chuckle.
"Haodao, out!" the teacher's voice rang out across the field.
And just like that, the long, exhausting fight between the two brothers came to a close, with Haoran standing over his fallen little brother.