First into the ring was Wang Shanying, his famed Thunder Palm still fresh in everyone's mind. Across from him, Jiang Hui drew a nine-inch golden short knife.
Zhang interjected, "Wang Shanying is unarmed, yet Jiang Hui wields a weapon. Is that fair?"
Cui Shensi smiled. "Then lend Wang the Seven-Star Demon-Slaying Sword, Master."
Zhang grunted, withdrew the sword from his back, and handed it to Wang.
Jiang Hui flared his palm seal and swung the golden knife. Sparks flew as Wang met the blow with the Seven-Star Sword. Wang's right palm then crackled with golden lightning, unleashing a bolt toward Jiang.
But Jiang Hui remained composed—he swept the knife in a broad arc, diverting the lightning harmlessly aside. As Wang pressed the assault, unleashing twin lightning strikes, Jiang blocked them in perfect sequence, parrying with unerring calm.
At the clash of his palms and sword, a sickening crack echoed—bones splintering. The crowd gasped.
When the smoke cleared, Wang Shanying staggered back, arms limp at his sides, face ashen. Both his forearms had been shattered.
Lan Xuan called out, "Brother Hui, you struck too fiercely!"
Jiang Hui lowered his head. "Forgive me, Senior Brother Wang. Let me help mend your bones."
Wang waved him off. "No need. I can heal myself." He retreated to the back of the hall and began to close his own bones with precise manual seals.
Cui Shensi nodded approvingly. "Such is the fate of those who shatter flesh and bone." Then he proclaimed, "Our second match: Zhou Qiang of Kunlun!"
Lan Xuan beamed. "Then let my Fourth Senior Brother Qi Ziegler take the field."
A hush fell. Qi Ziegler's power must surely surpass even Jiang's. Zhou Qiang bowed swiftly. "My humble skill is insufficient to rival Brother Ziegler," he admitted, stepping aside.
Li Jimin, still recovering from his venom ordeal, remained nowhere to be seen.
Zhang the Celestial Master bent to retrieve the Seven-Star Sword and turned to Lan Xuan. "Let me test a few moves against the Hidden Sect's leader. May I have the honor?"
A murmur of surprise ran through the audience. Zhang was challenging Lan Xuan himself—a bold bid to reclaim his prestige.
But Zhang had more on his mind: by singling out Lan Xuan, he could douse the trio's momentum before they all entered the Pure Yang Array. Each candidate lost from his sect made his own plan easier.
Lan Xuan merely drew the golden knife. "Very well. A brief friendly contest."
Zhang flicked the Seven-Star Sword once; veins of violet-light coiled along its blade like living serpents.
An elder at Ou Zhengqing's side gasped, "He's unleashing Purple Lightning and Azure Thunder—Zhang the Celestial Master means to kill him outright!"
Zhang formed a seal and called, "Appear!" Thunder boomed. A mass of black clouds swirled above Lan Xuan's head, and within them materialized a gilded warrior—armored in spiked gold, wielding a demon-subduing war-mace, charging to crush Lan Xuan.
But Lan Xuan's lips curved into a grin. "Such theatrics fool only the untrained." He too formed seals. From the roiling clouds emerged a silver-armored general bearing the Seven-Star Sword. The two spirits clashed in the sky until Lan Xuan laughed and brought his golden knife down in a horizontal arc—splitting both paper-thin figures into halves that drifted to the floor.
Zhang's face drained of color. He spat, "Then try this!" He flung the Seven-Star Sword high—it twisted into a massive, writhing python whose jaws gaped and whose red tongue flickered, exuding a stench of blood. The crowd recoiled in horror.
Cui Shensi raised his voice, "Be careful! It may be impervious to steel!"
Lan Xuan's eyes gleamed. "A serpent, you say? We handle serpents best of all!" He produced a small green orb from his pocket and flicked it. It struck the serpent's head, rolled down its scaled length, and lodged at the seventh segment.
The monstrous python writhed and shrank, snapping its coils, until it reverted to the Seven-Star Sword with a metallic clang.
From the orb emerged a gigantic centipede—its jade-green body a foot long, wings folded beneath a silken veil of white. It clicked its ruby eyes and writhed across the floor.
"Magnificent!" Ou Zhengqing cried.
An elder whispered, "That is the fabled Golden-Winged Centipede with dual wings—serpents' ancient enemy. No wonder the demon-slayer sword could not hold its form!"
Lan Xuan summoned it back into the orb and stowed it away with a single hand gesture.
Zhang stared in disbelief. Abbot Qingxuan approached and declared, "Since Lord Lan has bested our master's demonstrations, let he and his two junior fellows take their places in the Pure Yang Array."
Her words confirmed Lan Xuan's status: he truly was the Miao Sect's head, its present-day Law Lord.
Qingxuan turned to Zhang. "Master Celestial—please mount the array seat beside him."
Zhang, regaining his composure, sheathed the Seven-Star Sword and bowed to Lan Xuan. "Lord Lan, your prowess humbles me." The hall broke into appreciative applause.
Lan Xuan bowed in return. "Master Celestial must preside over the Pure Yang Array. You take the chief post."
A voice rang out: "One place remains! Who shall fill it?"
Zhang smiled, eyes flicking to Ou Zhengqing. "Originally I planned to choose from Wang Shanying, Zhou Qiang, or Li Jimin—yet Wang's broken bones and Li's poisoning rule them out. Zhou Qiang's maiden courage leaves me in doubt. In truth, young Master Ou showed both daring and righteousness in defending the Hidden Sect earlier. I propose he take the final seat in the Pure Yang Array. What say you?"
A cheer rose. Ou Zhengqing's heart thundered—he had never imagined such a fate.
Thus, by his own boldness and the favor of the masters, Ou Zhengqing secured his place among the Five Yang, the only one to bridge that gossamer line between modern wood and ancient martial destiny.