Xinshi was perfectly fine.

He didn’t look like he was fine. That, as much, would be obvious even to the most thoroughly mortal amongst their observers— he looked pale and clammy, sweat still tracing the contours of his musculature and a faint quiver in the arm that’d been struck by Lily’s heavenly lightning. Lily looked better than he did, despite objectively suffering far more grievous wounds between her stunt and the blade Xinshi had shoved through her gut.

Either way. The Young Master Xinshi was a sorry sight. His robes, ripped and torn, a little bit of blood still matted to their edges, his sword still bloody— long enough having passed for most of the crimson liquid to dry, making the whole thing look even sorrier. He really wasn’t in any position to fight, most certainly not against someone an entire step ahead of him in cultivation.

It had all the signs of a battle he’d get utterly crushed in, but… that was not what Mingtian felt from him. He could all but sense it, in his aura, in the way his qi shifted placidly, nervously back and forth—

When he’d stepped into the ring, he’d come to a decision. Mingtian didn’t know what he’d decided, but… whatever it was, his will was iron resolute. He would do… whatever it was, and Mingtian even found himself hoping a little bit that he hadn’t decided on winning. Because if he had… the Young Master was going to be in for a rude awakening.

Instructor Ceng raised his hand. “Between the rank one and rank two elite students, final match…”

“Wait.” A unstill silence fell over everyone yet remaining against that so confidently unconfident voice. “Not… yet.” The Young Master shuffled off his robe, leaving him in only a pair of plan pants. Then, with a gesture so utterly final, he took his sword— and tossed it haphazardly to the side. “Avyr. Give me a fair fight.” It sank into the earth with perfect ease, slicing deep into the loamy soil with a soft sound nonetheless cacophonous against the silence.

“You’ll lose,” murmured the cat.

“I was always going to lose. Everyone knew that, even the ones who thought otherwise. You’re…” he grimaced, as though he’d bit down on something bitter— “better than me at this.” Mingtian blinked. What? He’d not… oh. Oh. And to that, he could only grin. “So all I’m asking for is a fair fight. Cultivator against cultivator, and then when I lose, I can have at least fought you once.”

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Avyr was silent for a long moment before he dipped his head in quiet acquiescence. “As you wish.”

“Match— start!” And with a blur Avyr leapt at Xinshi— only for Xinshi to dodge and lash out with a devastating chop at the cat. Avyr rolled to the side at the last moment, his claws catching against Xinshi’s arm and skittering off the formation’s barrier. Then— it was Xinshi’s turn to lash out, sweeping his leg out in a kick that impacted against the side of Avyr’s head and sent him reeling back…

And so on, and so forth, the two of them grappling back and forth. Avyr was clearly holding back— using only his strength and resisting the urge to just cave his opponent's chest in with a qi empowered strike— but even then it wasn’t really a close fight. Xinshi made a good choice a bit in, throwing himself forward and sweeping out Avyr’s legs into a grapple, but even then he was sorely outmatched if only by Avyr’s sheer strength

.

It was a ludicrous battle.

It was amazing.

Lily glanced up at him from where she sat on the ground, looking… confused. That was the best way to describe it— she just looked confused. It took until Xinshi and Avyr had been reduced to a squirming brawl in the center of the arena for her to finally ask— “why?” It was a whispered thing, barely audible, but he heard it nonetheless. “I just don’t get why Xinshi would throw away all his advantages. He had everything.” There was a hint of bitterness there, maybe, which… it only made sense, coming from an orphan who’d had so little herself. “Why would he throw it all away?”

“A trade,” he murmured back to her, earning himself a half-muffled squeak of surprise. “And a victory of a wholly different sort. Think about it. Xinshi isn’t stupid. And much as he’s had every opportunity to be, he isn’t all that conceited, either.”

“I’d argue that…”

“Think of Guandong.”

Lily paused for a second, then grimaced. “Ah. I see.”

“This is… when you fight someone,” he finally settled on, “you fight for a reason. There is always a reason. Even when there isn’t one. This… they fight, but Xinshi’s reason has been defeated. Or rather— it may never have been his reason in the first place. Guxi’s reason has been abandoned, and that—” Avyr finally managed to pin Xinshi down and lock his jaws around his neck, and the match was called— “is a greater victory than any other.”

They’d won.

Lily watched with wide eyes, stunned into a brief silence, as it finally dawned on her—

At last, what a marvelous victory.