"Are you quite through showing off, outsider?"

Dai Xin opened one eye. He hadn't changed positions since Liu left; looking up at him down below was the same handsome, if brash, fellow from yesterday. Yuen, he believed, was the man's name. He still held the Nine Dragons Trident over one shoulder. 

"Yes." The redhead hopped down from the rooftop, landing easily in front of the weapons master. Though they were almost equal in height, Dai Xin was the broader in build and had the more intimidating eyes. But Yuen didn't react save to sniff and turn on his heel.

"Good. Master Min is ready for you!"

A place had been prepared, a square of swept and flattened ground, and the Mingdu students sat around it with eager faces. A few of them looked at Dai Xin and exchanged glances and whispers with excitement. While he hadn't been welcomed at first, the story of his involvement with Liu's bounty hunt had helped to put him into the village's good graces somewhat. They still wanted to send him packing, of course, but now he was at least a warrior worth facing in their eyes, rather than an arrogant challenger. Yuen left him to walk into the square on his own, and the weapons master returned to the side of the short, unassuming old man. Grandmaster Min's choice of clothing today was a little more regal, a dark green coat with patterns of golden thread that formed a dragon wreathing along his arms and around his shoulders. As he took his time walking out to the square, the old man rolled the sleeves up past his bony wrists. Dai Xin did the same.

"How did you enjoy your tour yesterday, Master Dai?"

"It was pleasant. This one thanks you for lending him the young master Liu." Dai Xin bowed his head respectfully.

"Good, good." the old man chuckled as he scratched his chin. "Well then, I suppose we should make things clear before we start. Are you representing your school during this duel?"

"No. I do not teach my own school. I am an owner, at least in part, of several, but I do not represent them either. My challenge is solely for my own satisfaction. If I am killed, there will be no need to worry of revenge. I have no heirs nor students, and no close friends who would be angered by my defeat."

"How sad." Master Min frowned, and Dai Xin raised an eyebrow. "We study martial arts to understand ourselves, and the universe. But to understand other human beings, that is worth so much more. Are you not lonely, young man?"

Dai Xin looked away from the grandmaster's discerning gaze. He was silent for a moment, and his stony expression softened.

"There is nothing in this world I love more than the martial arts." His tone hinted at sadness, but he became resolute again. He stretched his fingers, before curling them into fists.

"I'm sure you just haven't met them yet." Min twisted this way and that, popping his back with a grunt. "But enough yammering, Master Dai! Shall we get started?"

The old man took his stance, and instantly all the cheer in his aura was gone. Dai Xin did the same. The wispy, translucent shroud of Qi began to rise from the two. Yuen stood at the side of the ring, now holding a mallet. Behind him, the students rolled up a large gong. He looked between his master and the challenger with narrowed eyes. Slowly he raised the mallet.

"The duel between Dai Xin, of the Fist of the Sky, and Grandmaster Min of Five Wheel Striking Style, is ready!"

The gong's bellow reverberated throughout the town itself.

"Begin!"