For five full seconds after six-foot-two Young Master Tie Ba crashed through Deputy Magistrate Zhou’s mahogany referee table, the twenty thousand spectators packed into the Grand Prefecture Martial Arena couldn’t make a single sound!
Up on Arena Stage #1, nine-year-old Gu Nian stood neatly in his yellow bunny apron and yellow bunny slippers. Blew a tiny wisp of dust off the tip of his right index finger. Bowed politely toward the pile of splintered mahogany planks:.
“Oops... Dad, I tried to only use thirty percent of one finger. Big Brother Tie stepped on his own untied shoelace at the same time so he flew ten feet too far and broke the referee uncle’s desk!”
“That wasn’t your fault, Nian’er—when a person doesn’t tie his shoelaces, gravity does half the work,” twenty-nine-year-old Gu Changsheng called back reassuringly from the ringside family bench. Holding up a thumb while sixty-two-year-old Grandpa Fu calmly clicked his abacus to note that since Tie Ba’s body had broken the table, the Gu Clan owed zero silver for furniture repairs!
Up in the central VIP pavilion, fifty-two-year-aged Prefecture Lord Qin Zheng , at Rank 3 Mid Martial Grandmaster. Stared down at the nine-year-old boy’s single index finger for three seconds—and then slapped his armoured thigh and burst into a booming roar of laughter that echoed across the stadium:.
“BWAHAHAHA! What a marvelous nine-year-old little tiger from Frost-Pine Town! At age nine, his Rank 2 Mid Iron-Bone finger-pulse is cleaner and heavier than a nineteen-year-old inner-sect disciple’s!
Assistant Referee, declare Contestant #199 Gu Nian the winner of Bout One!”
Beside the Prefecture Lord, forty-five-year-old Patriarch Tie of the Iron-Fist Clan sat with his mouth wide open, his teacup frozen halfway to his beard. Four servants dug his groaning, rib-bruised eighteen-year-old son out of the splintered mahogany table!
“Magistrate Liu,” Patriarch Tie stammered, turning pale as he bowed toward Frost-Pine Town’s magistrate, “you... you really weren’t joking when you said my son needed a stretcher! What kind of divine marrow-cleansing diet does Patriarch Gu feed the primary-school children in Frost-Pine Town?!”
“Three hot Earth-Fire meals a day, eight hours of sleep on a heated kang bed. Two hours of evening arithmetic homework,” Magistrate Liu replied proudly, puffing out his chest as if he had trained Gu Nian himself!
Over the next forty minutes on Arena Stage #1. Nine-year-old Gu Nian’s second- and third-round opponents—two seventeen-year-old saber disciples from neighboring counties who had just watched. Two-hundred-pound Tie Ba get launched through a mahogany desk by one finger—didn’t even dare raise their blades!
As soon as the gong sounded for Round Two and Round Three on Stage #1, both seventeen-year-old teenagers bowed ninety degrees to nine-year-old Gu Nian, thanked him politely for checking their bootlaces. Voluntarily stepped one foot outside the white boundary chalk line so they could keep their collarbones intact!
And as the twenty thousand spectators erupted into thunderous, amused applause at nine-year-old Gu Nian sweeping the morning bracket on Stage #1 without breaking a sweat. Everybody’s eyes immediately shifted fifty yards east to Arena Stage #2!
Because over on Arena Stage #2, the second sensation of the morning brackets was just climbing up the wooden stairs on her short little legs:.
Contestant #200: Seven-year-old Gu Nuannuan (Su Nuannuan)!
Barely three-and-a-half feet tall, wearing her fluffy pink rabbit-fur dress with two bouncing pink hair-buns and a small silver-and-jade candy pouch jingling at her waist. The seven-year-old girl walked onto the center of Stage #2, set Grandpa Yao’s chubby green [Jade-Turtle Plush Doll] respectfully on the corner ring-post like a corner coach. Waved both tiny hands happily at her dad and big brother!
Across the ring from her stood her Round One opponent—and waiting in the bullpen for Rounds Two. Three of her bracket were two of his senior brothers: three arrogant seventeen-year-old elite swordsmen from the Prefecture City’s famous [Wind-Blade Martial School]. Led by seventeen-year-old Senior Brother Feng Liu , at Rank 2 Early!
“Hahaha! Brothers, look at my bracket!” seventeen-year-old Feng Liu laughed aloud, resting his unsharpened tournament steel longsword on his shoulder as he looked down at the seven-year-old girl who barely reached his belt buckle.
“Earlier at the betting booth, Bookmaker Qian gave ten-to-one odds against this seven-year-old baby girl, so our Wind-Blade School bet five thousand silver taels on me sweeping the bracket!
Hey, little bunny girl—if you hand over your candy pouch and hop off the stage right now, Big Brother won’t scare you with my sword-wind!”
On the corner ring-post, Grandpa Yao pushed up his tiny gold spectacles with his fuzzy green turtle flipper and whispered:.
“Little fairy, remember your father’s rule for friendly school tournaments: no drawing blood. No melting their iron swords unless they try to use lethal force—otherwise the Prefecture referees will spend all afternoon scraping black taffy off the tiles! Just give them a taste of the [Fused Sour-Plum Sleep Lollipops] we made with Auntie Qin yesterday!”
“Okay, Grandpa Yao! Nuannuan remembers!”
Seven-year-old Su Nuannuan bowed politely to seventeen-year-old Feng Liu as the starting gong rang:.
“Big Brother with the sword, Dad says children shouldn’t gamble silver or wave sticks before nap-time! Do you want to smell Nuannuan’s sour-plum lollipop?”
“Smell your lollipop?! Watch my [Wind-Blade Nine-Shadow Step] sweep you out of the ring!”
Seventeen-year-old Feng Liu kicked off the flagstones in a blur of cyan wind-qi, lunging across the forty-foot stage to tap Nuannuan’s shoulder with the flat of his blade!
Standing calmly in the center of the stage in her pink rabbit dress, seven-year-old Su Nuannuan didn’t even raise her small fists.
Instead, she reached into her silver-and-jade candy pouch, pulled out a sparkling pink-and-gold [Rank 2 Perfection: Honey-Slumber Sour-Plum Lollipop]. Dipped it into a tiny vial of sweet maltose sugar-syrup, held the hollow candy-ring up to her rosy lips. Blew a single gentle breath infused with her Rank 2 Early Sweet Honey-Candy & Healing Aroma Empress Body!
Puff... pop!
A basketball-sized, iridescent pink candy bubble floated gracefully across the stage and popped right in front of the charging seventeen-year-old Feng Liu’s nose!
Sniff... YAWWWWN!
The instant that concentrated, flaw-free [Rank 2 Honey-Slumber & Meridian-Relaxing Aroma] entered Feng Liu’s nostrils. Every tense muscle and drop of aggressive wind-qi in the seventeen-year-old swordsman’s body melted into the warmest, coziest afternoon sleepiness imaginable!
Mid-leap in the air, seventeen-year-old Feng Liu’s fierce eyes drooped shut, he let out a giant, jaw-cracking “Haaaa-yawn!”. Dropped his steel longsword onto the tiles with a loud CLANG, landed softly on his side on the flagstones. Curled up into a ball like a baby kitten, stuck his right thumb into his mouth.
Began snoring blissfully with a big happy bubble blowing from his nose!
“W-what?! Senior Brother Feng fell asleep mid-slash and is sucking his thumb on stage?!”
In the bullpen at the base of the stairs, Feng Liu’s two seventeen-year-old Wind-Blade School senior brothers—Feng Yun and Feng Yu—stared in disbelief. The stage referee counted to ten and declared seven-year-old Su Nuannuan the winner of Round One!
“Senior Brother Feng Liu only lost because he inhaled her candy bubble by accident!” seventeen-year-old Feng Yun barked when his turn came ten minutes later in Round Two. Tying a thick wet linen cloth tightly over his nose and mouth before leaping onto Stage #2.
“Little girl, I wrapped a wet towel over my face and sealed my lung-acupoints!
Let’s see how your candy bubble puts me to sleep when I don’t breathe through my nose!”
“Oh! Grandpa Yao taught Nuannuan about that in herb class on Monday!” seven-year-old Su Nuannuan beamed.
Holding up a second sparkling sour-plum lollipop and blowing TWO shimmering pink candy bubbles that drifted lazily across the stage and popped against Feng Yun’s bare forearms!
“Grandpa Yao said that when a person exercises hard, all the tiny pores on their arms open up to breathe ten times faster than their nose!”
Pop... seep... YAWWWWWN!
Before seventeen-year-old Feng Yun could even take his third step across the ring, the sweet honey-slumber aroma soaked straight through the open sweat-pores of his forearms into his meridians!
His wet face-towel sagged as a giant yawn stretched his jaw behind the cloth, his sword clattered onto the tiles. He lay down right beside the spot where Feng Liu had slept, using his own scabbard as a pillow while mumbling in his sleep: “Mommy, five more minutes before morning sword practice...”
And when the third Wind-Blade swordsman, Feng Yu, stepped onto the stage in Round Three wearing both a face-towel AND long sleeves, seven-year-old Su Nuannuan simply tilted her head, smiled sweetly. Held out an extra unwrapped sour-plum lollipop in her small hand:.
“Big Brother Feng, your two brothers looked so tired from waking up at four o’clock in the morning to practice swords every day! If you’re tired too, Nuannuan brought an extra blanket and a lollipop for you so you don’t have to get hit!”
Looking at his two senior brothers sleeping more peacefully than they had in three years—and smelling the heavenly. Soothing honey-plum aroma drifting from the little girl’s hand—seventeen-year-old Feng Yu’s eyes watered with sudden exhaustion. He accepted the lollipop politely, lay down on the flagstones of his own accord, and fell fast asleep in three seconds flat!
By eleven-thirty in the morning, all three seventeen-year-old elite swordsmen of the Wind-Blade School were curled up in a neat. Row in the center of Stage #2 sucking their thumbs in a blissful nap—while seven-year-old Su Nuannuan kindly walked over. Draped three small pink blankets from her backpack over their shoulders so they wouldn’t catch cold!
Standing over the three peacefully snoring swordsmen with his brass whistle in his mouth, the Stage #2 Referee blinked ten times in utter bewilderment before raising his green victory flag:.
“Round One, Round Two, and Round Three on Stage Two—all three Wind-Blade School contestants are fast asleep under pink blankets and unable to continue! Winner of the Eastern Morning Bracket by triple nap-time knockout: Contestant #200, seven-year-old Gu Nuannuan of Frost-Pine Town!”
“YAAAAY! Nuannuan won three matches without hurting anybody!” seven-year-old Su Nuannuan clapped her small hands happily.
Skipping over to the corner ring-post to pick up Grandpa Yao’s [Jade-Turtle Plush Doll] and holding the chubby green turtle high in the air toward the ringside bench.
“Dad! Auntie Qin! Did you see?
All three big brothers liked Nuannuan’s sour-plum lollipops so much they went right to sleep!”
“Well done, Nuannuan! That’s worth two extra honey-glazed drumsticks at lunch!” Gu Changsheng laughed warmly, clapping his hands while twenty-four-year-old Auntie Qin waved her silk handkerchief and Captain One-Ear Scar’s fifty pink-aproned security uncles roared like thunder:.
“LONG LIVE FLOWER-MONITOR NUANNUAN! SWEET DREAMS FOR EVERY OPPONENT!”
Even the Master of the Wind-Blade Martial School—who had initially rushed up the stage stairs worried that. His three prized disciples had been hit by a sinister poison—paused in astonishment when he checked their pulses.
“Wait a moment!” the Wind-Blade School Master gasped, his eyes widening as he felt the smooth, vibrant pulse in seventeen-year-old Feng Liu’s wrist. “Not only is there zero toxin in their meridians, that sweet honey-plum aroma actually dissolved the stubborn wind-chill blockages in their lung-channels from practicing swords on the snowy roof all winter!
When they wake up at noon, their sword-qi will be thirty percent faster than before!”
Hearing the Wind-Blade School Master’s public exclamation, all twenty thousand spectators in the stadium gasped in amazement and gave seven-year-old Su Nuannuan a standing ovation!
Up in the VIP stands, Prefecture Lord Qin Zheng laughed until tears rolled down his beard. By the betting booth, Bookmaker Qian fainted dead away after losing five thousand silver taels on the Wind-Blade favorites and paying out another massive ticket to Grandpa Fu’s smiling abacus. And down in the dark locker room beneath the arena, a pale, trembling Lin Fan [Luck Halo: 16%] pulled out a forbidden crimson [Blood-Swallowing Devil Pill] and swallowed it raw!
As the foul crimson pill burned through his stomach like molten lead. Forcing his unstable cultivation back up to a twisted Rank 2 Peak, Lin Fan stared through the locker-room grate at nine-year-old Gu Nian and seven-year-old Su Nuannuan with blood-red eyes:.
“Laugh while you can, Gu Changsheng! At lunch, Deputy Magistrate Zhou is wiring the twelve underground Dark-Iron Nails directly to a fifty-pound Blood-Magnet Master Stone under Stage One! When the afternoon semifinals start, your son won’t be able to take a single step!”
[ DING! BOTH GU KIDS ADVANCE UNDEFEATED TO THE SEMIFINALS! ]
* Morning Record: Gu Nian (3 Wins via 1 Finger) | Su Nuannuan (3.
Wins via 3 Lollipop Bubbles & 3 Blankets)!
* Daily Income : +120,000 DP/day -> +132,000 DP/day!