["The trick isn't just beating your opponent. It's making them lose in front of everyone—without knowing who did it." – Wu Feng]
-
Two days passed quietly after the auction.
Wu Feng avoided the spotlight. Not because he feared it, but because he valued distance. Anonymity was power.
Unfortunately, Broken Root Sect didn't believe in peace.
Trial Board Announcement
At dawn, a notice appeared on the Inner Courtyard Challenge Pillar:
"Ranked Duel Challenge: Fang Kai vs. Unknown Participant 'Gu Yao' – Time: Sundown"
Wu read it with a rice bun in hand and a deadpan expression.
"Gu Yao. My alias. The one I used to steal an auction item," he muttered. "And now I've been challenged under that name."
"How poetic."
[+5 PP – Bluff Backfire (With Potential)]
Fang Kai wasn't just a core disciple.
He was the cousin of Fang Muchen—the same disciple Wu Feng had publicly humiliated, illusion-sabotaged, and caused to stab himself during a trial.
The Fang family didn't forget.
And now, thinking "Gu Yao" was a real upstart from Pill Division who walked off with a mysterious auction item, Fang Kai was out for blood.
Now he had two options:
Refuse the duel. Gu Yao's reputation vanishes, and Wu avoids exposure—but loses face in silence.
Accept… and use it as a stage.
"There are two ways to win a fight," Wu muttered. "Overpower them… or rewrite the narrative."
He chose the second.
Now time for Preparation
He activated the Displaced Persona Fragment, anchoring his qi signature to that of Gu Yao, Disciple of Pill Division.
Then layered on:
The Silent Wind Step to smooth his presence
A basic combat illusion cloak from the Petty Shop (to shift posture subtly)
And a half-mask, to simulate a "burn scar" identity from a "failed alchemy accident"
"Every lie," he whispered, "is more believable when it has one flaw."
At the Dueling Platform – Sundown
Dozens gathered. Core disciples stood like banners behind Fang Kai, whose robe shimmered with spiritual plating. He held a spear wrapped in lightning inscriptions.
"Gu Yao!" he barked. "You insulted my cousin. You mocked this sect's trial. You faked your way into our auction."
"You won't fake your way through this."
Wu stepped onto the platform calmly, robes plain, scarred mask in place.
"I don't intend to," he said. "I only fake things worth having."
Gasps. Even a few laughs.
Fang Kai's eyes narrowed. "I'll break you."
"You can try," Wu said, and stepped into stance.
The Rules are:
– No fatal strikes– Fight ends by submission, unconsciousness, or disarmament– Spiritual weapons permitted– External talismans forbidden
And the Duel Begins
Fang Kai launched forward like a storm. Lightning arced from his spear, cracking the stage tiles.
Wu didn't dodge like a normal cultivator.
He stepped sideways—into the blind angle of Fang Kai's dominant stance.
It wasn't fast. It was strategic.
The spear passed within inches, grazing robes.
The crowd flinched. Elder Han raised an eyebrow.
Wu twisted, tapped the shaft of the spear with two fingers—and redirected it into the ground.
Fang Kai stumbled, unbalanced.
"Wrong footwork for a right-handed charge," Wu said, stepping past him.
[+10 PP – Technique Analysis Used Publicly][+5 PP – Casual Comment Mid-Duel]
Fang Kai snarled. "You're a coward!"
Wu spun into Foot Shadow Echo, vanishing momentarily into his own movement—then appeared behind Fang Kai's left side, tapping his ribs with two fingers.
"Soft spot. You skipped stabilization training."
Another gasp.
Fang Kai turned, slashing wildly. Wu dodged twice, then kicked him in the back—lightly.
Fang Kai landed hard.
"Don't worry," Wu said, "it's not over. You're just early to defeat."
[+15 PP – Humiliation Without Injury][+5 PP – Crowd Momentum Shifted]
Fang Kai was desperate and activated a forbidden qi enhancer: Blood Current Pill.
His aura doubled. Muscles flexed. Spiritual pressure surged.
"Now you die, alchemy trash!"
He struck with full power.
Wu stood still.
At the last second, he dropped into Drifting Edge Slide, passing under the spear sweep and gliding behind Fang Kai.
He raised a single talisman—illegal, yes—but designed to fizzle without activation.
He threw it high.
The crowd gasped, thinking he was about to cheat.
Fang Kai froze—distracted.
Wu used that split second to palm the spear from below, twist it, and send it flying.
It embedded in the dueling wall.
"Fight's over."
[+20 PP – Weapon Disarm (Using Distraction Bluff)][+10 PP – Illegal Item Not Used (Bait)][+5 PP – Public Disarmament]
Elder Ming stood and made the announcement
"The duel is concluded. Winner: Gu Yao."
No applause.
Just silence.
And then whispers.
"He disarmed a core disciple…""No spirit root aura… just technique…""Is Pill Division hiding talents now?""That fighting style wasn't even recorded…"
System Notification
Petty Points: 430New Unlocks:
Displaced Persona Layer II – Minor Memory Drift (Can confuse witnesses temporarily)
Petty Shop: Illusion Cloak Upgrade (Can now simulate aura signature briefly)
New Cultivation Perk: Reverse Flow – You gain insight from confusing your opponents, not just beating them.
After the Duel Wu Feng bowed briefly, then left.
Fast.
The moment he was out of sight, he pulled off the mask, dropped the robe, and vanished into an alley.
By the time guards asked "Where did Gu Yao go?"—he no longer existed.
In the Crowd…
Li Qingyu didn't speak.
But she watched the duel carefully.
The footwork… the rhythm… the use of direction, misdirection, social manipulation, silence…
She remembered Wu Feng standing beside a lantern weeks ago, staring off into the dark.
"He cultivates… like he's invisible."
She added another line to her hidden scroll of suspects.
"Gu Yao = probable fake. Style: Unknown. Possible link: Orphan 98."
Now Wu Feng sat under a tree behind the spirit beast yard alone, eating another rice bun.
The spear disarm was playing in his mind.
Not the technique.
The reaction.
The silence. The shift.
They didn't know him.
But they saw him now.
"That's enough for today," Wu whispered.
"Next time, I won't need a mask."