“This should be good” monk Wu’ang unconsciously voiced out, he just noticed that Bo-jun had being gathering aether all this while.

  Monk Bo-jun’s foot hit the sand bag and a deep breath was all the warning sister Ying got before a large torrent of fire came for her. Monk Bo-jun had being preparing the attack as soon as he lost his staff, he had even forced the flames from his mouth at the risk of injury in order not to tip her off any more than he absolutely had to, of the attack but still it seemed her preparations had been sufficient. As soon as he had breathed in she had started dodging backwards, gliding through the sand. It had given her just enough space to assess the attack and dodge appropriately, which in her case was to duck and roll away from his attack.

  “Such shape instincts” Joseph admired from his side and he nodded in agreement.

  “To step into her own trap without hesitation. Her instincts and decisiveness has won her the match” he added.

  “Oh, the man has forfeited?” Gabriel asked, he just watched the man step out of the ring on his own.

  “Well yes, he has just used a powerful spell -which he would be punished for- a kind of last card play and yet she is completely unharmed sans burnt clothing. Stepping out now would save him the embarrassment of being forced out.”

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  “Oh” Gabriel replied.

  “I overstepped” Bo-jun bowed outside the ring “I will accept any punishment”

  Disciple Wang stared hard at Bo-jun, the thoughts in his head unknown but his clenched fist gave away his anger. For a few seconds the whole temple waited with bated breaths and sighed in collective relief when he breathed out heavily.

  “Disciple Bo-jun has been disqualified on account of using lethal force against a fellow disciple. He will copy scared srolls and texts for the next six months, do you accept?” there was a promise of violence behind the question

  “I accept” Bo-jun replied without hesitation

  “You may leave” Bo-jun bowed again before walking away. Monk Wang sighed in quiet relief before addressing the crowd again. “sister Ying wins and has progressed to the next stage.”

  “She doesn’t get to rest?” Gabriel asked aloud, seeing her walk back to the center of the stage.

  “Not this time.” Wu’ang replied. "Thi tournament is as much a competition as it is a test. Her next opponent is the test,, if she can hold on or impress her next opponent for long enough, she passes.”

  Gabriel nodded, as though he understood, when he actually didn't.

  “You don’t get it, do you?” Gabriel shook his head

  “Do you know what the tournament is for?” Gabriel shook his head again “Well, here in the temple we divide our disciples into teams, smaller units for easier accountability and each unit has a teamleader. To pick this teamleaders, we organize a tournament. Now there are certain things we expect from our teamleaders and that is why we hold the test. We use a senior disciple, like myself, to ensure fairness.”