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And that meant having a citywide reputation was all the more important to keep people in check, especially while I was away. Anger and frustration built inside me like a volcano the more I thought about it, but I had no target to aim it at.

I almost wished there were some nameless sect responsible that I could rip apart and tear to shreds, but whoever I would face in the arena tonight would instead be the one to unfortunately bear my wrath.

I stepped into the arena marshalling area and even Bo Ren’s smiling face couldn’t break the grimace on my face as I approached the counter. He was a heavyset man, wearing the beige and off-white colors of imperial robes. There was another official behind the counter with him but luckily it was too early for any other cultivators to be present.

“Whoa! Look at this tough guy!” he said with a laugh, stroking his bearded chin as if to playfully mock my own. “I didn’t think you were ever coming back, Bull Man!”

Bo Ren was probably one of my biggest supporters from my days in the ring. Although officially he couldn’t take sides, more than once he had let the rules slide to give me a leg up as an underdog.

“I wasn’t,” I said truthfully. “But some things have changed. I need back in the Iron Bracket, Master Bo Ren.”

“Whoa what?” He creased his brow at me, confused. “You already withdrew, plus it’s pretty much over now. And you qualified for Gold already, didn’t you? What do you need to go back into Iron for?”

I let out a sigh. “I need the win to afford the entry fee for Gold.”

Bo Ren’s eyes widened and his colleague next to him raised a brow at me from the side.

“Are you serious, kid?” Bo Ren glanced about and then leaned closer over the counter to lower his voice to a whisper. “Look, I like you and all, but I’m going to have to talk facts. First, qualifying for Gold and participating in Gold are two different things. People can take up to ten years before they make the leap from Iron to Gold and some never even do. The competition in Gold is fierce. It’s like clan versus clan at that level too. A lone wolf type like you might not fare so well.”

“Yeah, I know the drill,” I said. “But I need to get back in there. A lot of other stuff is riding on this too.”

He blew out a sigh as he leaned away from the counter. “Well look, even if it made sense, it’s not really possible, kid. Like I said the Iron Bracket is pretty much concluded. And you’ve already withdrawn anyway. So there’s not much I can do.”

Shit, I thought. I probably should have dealt with this first instead of heading out to the wild. But then again they did need me out there too—especially with the dire situation I found them all in when I arrived.

No, I thought. I can’t go second guessing my decisions.

My Flame was still guiding me here.

It would see me through this as well.

“There’s got to be some way,” I said.

“Look, there is always next year,” Bo Ren said. “And hey, if you keep doing some prize bouts in the off-tournament season, you could maybe even earn the 1000 spirit stones for the entry fee. You get good odds on the books. Although not as much as you used to.”

He grinned, making a joke of all the money we’d both made from him betting on me.

What he said made sense though.

Hell, I had bagged 100 spirit stones worth of monster cores in just a couple weeks.

And I did need to kill spirit beasts to strengthen the sword anyway, assuming I learned how to properly use the damn thing.

“How soon do I need to pay to join the Gold Bracket?”

Bo Ren shook his head with a laugh. “You just don’t quit, do you? Entry closes in less than two weeks.”

“Damn it,” I cursed. “I won’t have enough time for that.”

But just entering Gold wouldn’t truly help me anyway.

Not right now.

I needed the people of the city to see me in the ring.

To fear me.

No matter the bracket.

“Bo Ren, I need in that ring now,” I said with [Struggler’s Resolve]. “I don’t care how, but the Iron Bull needs to make a comeback.”

He swallowed as he stared back at me warily, reacting to my technique. “You’re really serious, aren’t you?”

“Like a heart attack.”

“A what?”

“Nevermind,” I said, remembering that not every Earthborn phrase translated well into Yee. “Can you get me in or what?”

“Look, like I said, the Iron Bracket is pretty much finished now.”

“What do you mean, ‘pretty much’? Is it over or not?”

“Well, it’s not technically over, but—”

“So there is a chance?” I said, my hopes rising. “It’s still open?”

Bo Ren sighed again and then tapped on his Qi Tablet to bring up the Iron Bracket rankings on the billboard behind him.

Rank

Name

Sect

Affiliation

Aspect

Element

Cultivation Realm and Tier

Current

Standing

1

Lady Silver Sparrow

Silver Leaf Sect

Metal

Core 4th

1

2

Lady Silver Dove

Silver Leaf Sect

Metal

Core 5th

Withdrawn

3

Lady Silver Hawk

Silver Leaf Sect

Metal

Core 5th

Withdrawn

4

Fung Wang

Holy Mountain Clan

Earth

Core 3rd

Eliminated

I looked at the three frontrunners perplexed. “You’ve got to be kidding me… All Silver Leaf Clan?”

Just seeing the names reminded me of Fia. With a name like Lady Silver Light, it was easy to think of her as being unique, but this proved there were many ‘ladies’ within the greater Silver Leaf Clan.

The name was more of a title as Fia had said.

“That’s the ruling clan for you, my friend,” Bo Ren said with a shrug. “The three of them do this every year. Choke the top of the Iron Bracket and then decide amongst themselves who will win and then the other two withdraw at the last minute leaving no final bout. Now you see what I mean when I say it’s pretty much over?”

“What the hell?” I said. “How do they collude like that? Are they sisters or something?”

Bo Ren chuckled. “How’d you guess? They’re triplets. Real popular for a few years too, but to be honest everyone is kind of bored sick of them now though. They enter late, plow through the competition and then just sit on the top with no payoff for the crowd and just collect the winnings, fight free. A shame too. Everyone thought there might have been an actual fight for top spot this year with Fung Wang. He got damn close to beating Silver Sparrow.”

“Silver Sparrow…” I said and then recalled the name being close to mine in ranking when I had first entered the Iron Bracket. “She started at like 96th or something right?”

“Good memory,” he said. “Yeah, she entered late as usual. She’s probably the worst of the three but I guess it was her turn this year. I lost a lot of damn money on that fight. Really thought Fung Wang had a shot.”

“Well, I’m willing to fight her,” I said. “Get me the shot and I’ll give you the fight of a lifetime.”

Bo Ren laughed. “As crazy as that sounds, it’s against the rules, kid.”

“Why? It’s not like I was eliminated. Can’t I just re-enter or something?”

“It doesn’t work like t—”

“Please, Master Bo Ren,” I said. “I need this more than you know.”

He looked at me oddly as I laid heavily on the [Struggler’s Resolve]. I couldn’t leave empty handed. I needed my renown spread throughout the city and there would be no better way than a high-level match like this.

Win, lose, or die—I had to make this happen.

“If the people want to see a fight…I’ll give them a fight.”

Bo Ren leaned back folding his arms as he studied me. He looked upwards in thought and then his eyes squinted as if suddenly thinking of something.

“Wait right here,” he said before leaving the counter.

I waited for about twenty minutes, but eventually Bo Ren returned followed by a tall, lanky man with a long wispy gray beard and hair. He looked familiar and when I saw the tall black hat on his head, I recognized who he was. I’d met him once before—the top official in charge of the tournament, but I couldn’t recall his name.

“This is him again, Sub-Warden Lein Cho,” Bo Ren said introducing me. “The Iron Bull.”

Lein Cho stroked his beard as he looked me up and down. “So, the rumors are indeed true. You are the same man. And a Terran at that.”

I bowed before him. “Yes… thank you for considering my request, Sub-Warden Lein Cho.”

He jerked his head back, confused. “What request?”

Shit, had Bo Ren told him nothing yet?

Bo Ren quickly smiled. “Master Lein Cho, see to the board behind you. Tell me, is there any surprise in what you see there?”

Lein Cho looked over his shoulder at the rankings. “Not really, the Shen family rules the Iron Bracket once again. Those three should really move on to the Gold Bracket, to be honest.”

“Exactly,” Bo Ren said. “The city knows this too. We had three matches scheduled for tonight and none of them will occur now that the sisters have withdrawn to leave Lady Silver Sparrow the uncontested winner.”

Lein Cho shrugged. “So put on some exhibition matches as usual.”

“We’ve already arranged that,” Bo Ren said. “And the city knows this.”

“What do you mean?”

“The ticket sales,” Bo Ren said. “We’ve barely sold ten percent of the seating for tonight.”

Lein Cho sighed. “This happens every year. But there is always a slump before the Gold Bracket commences. Can’t be helped.”

“But it doesn’t have to be so,” Bo Ren said with a grin. “Not this year.”

Lein Cho cocked a brow. “Whatever do you mean, Bo Ren?”

Bo Ren then gestured to me. “The Iron Bull has a proposition. He wishes a chance to fight for 1st place.”

His eyes widened with interest. “Indeed? But he withdrew, did he not?”

“He indeed did,” Bo Ren said.

“Then there is nothing to talk about. The rules are the rules.”

“Yes, rules that you can make or even break as Tournament Chair, Master Lein Cho.”

“You speak madness. You tempt me to incite the Warden’s wrath by snubbing the easy win of one of her grandnieces?”

“Please, they have each won twice before. I think you would get more wrath from an unfilled stadium than giving her nieces an actual challenge to win.” Bo Ren then sweetened his counter with a tactful smile. “And besides I am not suggesting a straight insertion. The Iron Bull is a crowd favorite who would be welcomed back into the ring with a huge crowd, but we had another crowd favorite as well… Fung Wang.”

“The Earth Master?” Lein Cho said with a furrowed brow. “But he was defeated.”

“Yes, but think of this. Two crowd favorites given a second shot at glory. If you want an exhibition match that the whole city would come to see, then put them on the roster. And for a prize, the winner has the rare opportunity to re-enter the Iron Bracket and face Lady Silver Sparrow for the top spot.” Bo Ren waited to let it all sink in before adding, “So what do you think?”

Lein Cho paused a moment more, his eyes shifting in thought. “How long until the gates open?”

“Three hours,” Bo Ren said.

“Then quick,” he said. “Make flyers and contact Fung Wang.” He then looked to me. “Are you prepared to fight tonight, Iron Bull?”

My Flame flared with elation as I slammed my fist into my palm with [Struggler’s Resolve]. Bo Ren had done it! He’d made it happen!

“The Iron Bull is always prepared to fight,” I said.

Lein Cho grinned with a splash of lemonade.

“I see now why the crowds love This One,” he said. “Very well. We shall have it.” He then stared into the distance as if seeing a future only he could see. “This is the perfect comeback story. You have proven your talent yet again, Bo Ren. I love it. A living legend lost, versus a tournament hopeful nearly slain. It will be a battle for redemption. For vindication. For true superiority.”

Bo Ren bowed. “You are too kind with your praise, Master Lein Cho.”

“Prepare a new billing header,” Lein Cho said, waving his hand in front of him as if imagining the words illuminated above the crowd. “We shall call it…the Second Chance Showdown.”