The rich aroma of fire roasted bear meat slowly faded into the cool evening breeze as the unlikely group finished their impromptu meal. The three Astor Clan elders wiped their hands on clean silk cloths and their expressions shifted back to a state of serious authority. The brief and strange respite from the political storm had officially concluded and it was time to get back to business.

Everyone was a bit unsure of what had just happened but all eyes drifted towards Li Yu, as if he had some strange spell or aura over everyone. Sera Astor set her empty ceramic cup down on the smooth stone table and clasped her hands together to resume her formal duties as the heir of the ruling faction.

"We must return to the matter at hand and discuss our next steps," Sera announced while looking directly at Li Yu and his companions. "The Thorne Clan is refusing to let the incident drop. They are demanding blood for the perceived insult to their young noble and they claim your actions damaged their prestige. To avoid a full scale conflict erupting within the city streets, the Astor Clan has agreed to host a formal trial by combat to settle the grievance."

Li Yu leaned back on his sturdy stone bench and raised a skeptical eyebrow. "They are really not letting go over something so incredibly simple? They are willing to risk the lives of their own people over a broken carriage wheel and a bruised ego?"

"It is an official trial by combat featuring five fighters on each side," the armored elder standing next to Sera explained with a gruff and unyielding voice, not answering Li Yu’s questions. "The format dictates the first side to secure three victories will claim the ultimate win. The victor of a match stays in the ring to face the next opponent until they are defeated or voluntarily step down."

Sera lowered her amber eyes and let out a quiet sigh that betrayed her heavy burden. "I must apologize for placing you in this situation. The truth is that the Thorne Clan has grown far too powerful lately. Even our own ruling clan is wary of their expanding influence and the hidden experts they have recruited. We are simply not willing to break the fragile peace we have with them over foreign wanderers at this time."

The three elders immediately bristled at her honest words. The armored elder took a step forward and his weathered face flushed red with anger at the blatant admission of their political weakness. Revealing such sensitive information to outsiders was a severe breach of protocol.

"Young Miss," the elder snapped. "You speak out of turn and reveal things you should keep hidden from these people."

Before the older man could deliver a proper scolding, Li Yu waved his hand to cut him off.

"Do not get angry at her for speaking the truth," Li Yu stated with a calm and measured tone. "We can all already tell what the political landscape looks like here. The fact that your city rules were not enforced immediately on the streets for everyone to see as an example was telling enough. If the Astor Clan truly held undisputed power over Silverguard, those Thorne guards would have been executed on the spot for breaking the laws you made here."

The armored elder closed his mouth and ground his teeth together since he could not refute the solid logic. The Astor Clan had shown hesitation and that hesitation revealed everything.

"I already knew the outcome of this dispute before it happened," Li Yu continued while pouring himself a final cup of warm tea. "Your clan needs a scapegoat to appease the Thorne faction without looking weak in front of the local sects. I am just surprised they agreed to a trial by combat instead of a simple execution."

Li Yu ran the rules of the engagement through his mind and quickly deduced the enemy strategy.

"First to three wins and the winner stays in the ring," Li Yu mused aloud while nodding his head. "That is for the best. They are probably counting on sending out someone exceptionally strong first to sweep the matches. They want to kill three of us in rapid succession without suffering any losses to their own side to prove their supreme dominance and restore whatever it is that they say they are restoring."

Sera nodded her head in agreement. "That is our internal assessment as well. They want to display their overwhelming martial prowess to humiliate our clan and assert their power. We can see it too but now is not the time and you will have to bear this burden. I am sorry that things have to be this way."

"Okay," Li Yu said with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "When is this trial by combat taking place?"

"It is scheduled for tomorrow at noon in the central arena," Sera answered while watching him closely for any kind of reaction at all.

"Understood," Li Yu replied while standing up to stretch his arms. "You can all go now to prepare your arena. But you are welcome to come back at dinner time if you want to eat some more. I am going to experiment with some hearty vegetable and meat soups while I try fire roasting some spiced meat as well."

The three elders stared at him with blank and uncomprehending expressions. They could not seem to understand his priorities at all. Sera also felt a deep wave of confusion washing over her mind. They had just informed this young man he was fighting a lethal death match tomorrow against a hostile and powerful faction, yet he was casually discussing his dinner menu as if they were planning a simple picnic.

Finding no logical response to his bizarre behavior, the Astor Clan members offered stiff nods and quickly exited the courtyard. They didn’t want things to go this way, they were the ones losing face due to these events. However, they also sympathized with these six people that they were caught in the middle. The Astor Clan couldn’t help them leave and they couldn’t help them fight either. The wooden doors slammed shut behind them and the array barriers hummed back to life to seal the space securely. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Once the local authorities were gone, the three Zhan disciples turned toward Li Yu with serious and anxious expressions.

"Should we just crush our emergency tokens now and call it an early end to this nonsense?" Zhan Feng asked while pulling a glowing jade slip from his inner robes. "We were unlucky to cross paths with that arrogant noble but it is not worth risking our lives in a rigged arena. People have to be smart on the path to cultivation and fighting a local power on their own terms is foolish."

"We can summon the elders and flatten this arrogant city instead," Zhan Ren agreed while glaring at the locked wooden doors.

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Li Yu held up a hand to stop them from making a rash decision.

"Hold on and keep your tokens put away," Li Yu instructed with a firm voice. "I want to see where this goes. This is training for us after all, we should try to do our best on our own but I do like that you three are not so prideful as to die rather than ask for help. Never lose that mentality. However, I have my own plans for this."

Zhan Lei frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why play their game when we hold the real power, even if it means we have failed the task?"

"My instincts are telling me to proceed," Li Yu explained while looking up at the vibrant afternoon sky.

His understanding of the laws of Fate and Karma granted him a unique perspective on the world. His deepened understanding of the laws of karma and fate was actively nudging his spirit and instincts. Li Yu could feel the subtle invisible threads or his instincts pulling him toward the arena instead of away from it. The Thorne Clan felt like a nasty group of people who carried dark and heavy karma. He intended to find out exactly why.

Li Yu looked back at the three somewhat nervous disciples and offered a reassuring smile.

"Do not worry about the matches tomorrow," Li Yu told them with unshakeable confidence. "I will start first and be the only one to fight if all goes well. If I somehow fall in the ring, you can crush your tokens then. Borum and Faen can easily protect you until our elders arrive to tear this place apart."

The two Domain King servants stepped forward upon hearing their names mentioned.

"We should go first, Li Yu," Borum offered while thumping his heavy rocky chest with a thick earthen fist. "I possess a sturdy foundation and I can tire out their fighter before you have to step into the ring."

"I can use my speed to test their techniques and find their weaknesses," Faen added while resting a hand on her slender hip.

"It is fine," Li Yu insisted while waving off their loyal offers. "That is exactly what I want to avoid. I want to see what they have to offer me at their absolute best. I will take the vanguard position and end the match myself."

With the battle plan, if you can really call it a plan, firmly settled, the heavy tension in the courtyard faded away once again. The six companions spent the rest of the afternoon chatting casually around the stone pond. Borum and Faen offered their own insights into the local geography and the shifting power dynamics of the various ruling sects since they have lived here their own lives. Li Yu listened intently while gathering useful information to map out his future travels.

As the evening shadows grew long across the manicured garden, Li Yu unpacked his cooking supplies once more. He set up a large iron pot over his stone fire pit and began chopping various spiritual roots and leafy greens.

Right as the savory scent of simmering broth filled the quiet air, the courtyard locks clicked open once again. Sera Astor returned but she was all alone this time. She wore a simpler silk dress this time and carried a hesitant curiosity in her bright eyes. She was curious about Li Yu and his strange unusualness. She had dealt with countless young masters and rogue cultivators but she had never met someone who treated political captivity like a luxury vacation.

Li Yu welcomed her inside the garden and offered her a comfortable seat near the crackling fire. He went back to work making an amazing and hearty soup for everyone to enjoy.

He summoned a vibrant orb of his orange natal flame and let it hover gently beneath the iron pot to maintain a perfect rolling boil. He then used thin microscopic threads of the same intense fire to directly roast thick cuts of marinated meat hovering in the empty air. The supreme heat locked in the natural juices and rendered the tough fat until the meat looked super tender and delicious.

Sera watched the masterful display of elemental control and felt a sense of awe wash over her. The orange flame radiated a terrifying destructive energy yet he wielded it with surgical precision to heat a simple meal. She could not understand his methods at all but began to wonder if he was counting on this flame to win the next day’s battle.

"Are you using a specialized fire technique for this? Do you use fire techniques in battle?" Sera could not help but ask while watching the meat sizzle in midair without burning. "The mental control required to manipulate a flame like that is truly staggering."

"No," Li Yu answered casually while tossing a handful of crushed spices into the bubbling soup. "I only use this flame for cooking. I do not use it for martial combat."

Sera stared at him and her mouth fell slightly open in shock. The three Zhan disciples also paused their lively conversation and looked over with flabbergasted expressions. They all knew the immense value of a natal flame in the cultivation world. To hear this damn guy admit he reserved such a devastating weapon exclusively for roasting dinner was enough to make any sane warrior cough up blood in frustration.

The group gathered around the stone table as the evening fully approached and they began enjoying the rich meal. Sera took her first sip of the root soup and her eyes widened in delight as the warm spiritual energy washed over her tired meridians. The food tasted divine and was unlike anything she had tasted before. The ingredients were not from her realm so it was understandable that she felt this way, on top of Li Yu’s mastery over cooking.

While everyone was distracted by the delicious food and the light conversation, Li Yu turned around and faced the high stone wall of the courtyard. He casually gathered three ceramic bowls of hot soup and a stack of freshly roasted meat skewers.

With a subtle flick of his wrist, he launched the food out of the courtyard. The ceramic bowls and wooden skewers sailed through the air and easily bypassed the shimmering containment arrays and defensive arrays without triggering a single alarm. They slipped through the dense energy formations like ghosts passing through solid rock.

Outside the courtyard walls, three figures stood hidden within the dark evening shadows. The Astor Clan Patriarch stood tall with his hands clasped firmly behind his back. His elegant wife stood next to him along with the high ranking Head Elder. They had been secretly observing the foreign youth to gauge his true depth and intentions before the trial tomorrow.

The Patriarch reached out and effortlessly caught the flying bowls and skewers using a soft cushion of wind Qi. He looked down at the hot food resting in his hands and then looked back at the imposing courtyard wall.

Clearly Li Yu knew they were standing there the entire time despite their concealment techniques. The fact that he was able to bypass all of their arrays and formation to deliver this food was also a telling sign that he could come and go as he pleased. Inside the garden, Li Yu gave a faint nod toward the wall and returned to his meal without the others noticing his subtle actions.

The three hidden observers stood in silence for a long moment before deciding to try the unexpected offering. Sera Astor had talked about it with her parents as part of her report, that the young man can really cook. The Patriarch took a cautious sip of the broth and chewed a piece of the tender meat. He swallowed the food and offered a stoic nod to his companions.

"He is not bad at all," the Patriarch finally spoke with a calm and measured voice while trying to maintain his dignified composure.

The Head Elder took a bite of his own skewer and his eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. The rich flavors exploded across his palate like a firework. He looked at his clan leader in disbelief.

"Not bad?" The Head Elder whispered harshly while indicating that the Patriarch was being ridiculous to undersell the culinary experience. "What would be considered good to you then? His cooking is amazing and let’s not even start on his actual martial skills."

The Matriarch ignored the bickering men. She held her ceramic bowl with both hands and took another eager sip before letting out a contented sigh.

"His cooking is amazing," the Matriarch declared with a warm smile. "This is one of the best soups I have ever had and this meat is incredible as well."