Chapter 25

Some in the crowd mistake Fang Zheng for his twin, until someone points out that Fang Yuan always wears a cold expression and never appears tense. The crowd turns to watch the only A grade talent their village has produced in three years. Nervous under so many eyes, Fang Zheng’s first moonblade slips off target and lands in the puppet’s neck instead of the chest he meant. The crowd reads a bold display of confidence into the miss, but only the elder and Fang Yuan see it as the error it is. Fang Zheng steadies himself with a few breaths and lands his next two blades cleanly on the chest, tying the result Mo Bei and Chi Cheng already posted. ^{ch. 25}

The remaining groups add nothing new, and by now gossip has settled the contest among Mo Bei, Chi Cheng, and Fang Zheng. In his heart the elder has already settled on Fang Zheng: Mo Bei and Chi Cheng represent a rivalry between two powerful elders that he prefers to stay out of. He himself leans toward clan head Gu Yue Bo, whose faction Fang Zheng belongs to, so crowning an A grade talent already tied to the clan head draws no objection from above. When Fang Yuan finally steps up, the crowd jeers at the C grade “cold genius” they say only won his Gu assessment by luck, and Fang Yuan lets his first moonblade sail high over the bamboo wall, drawing fresh laughter. ^{ch. 25}

Two throws remain, and the elder’s decision already leans away from him. Fang Yuan needs an outcome that overturns everyone’s expectations. He fires the last two moonblades almost as one motion, the gap between them less than half a meter in the air, and both strike the puppet’s neck together. The head tips, drops, and rolls several meters across the ground: Fang Yuan has beheaded the puppet outright, and the training field falls silent. Fang Zheng stares blankly as his surging hope collapses, and even the elder frowns, wondering whether it is luck or skill. Fang Yuan stays outwardly unmoved, watching a flock of peacock parrots wheel overhead, and tells himself in his heart that the light of spring is enchanting. ^{ch. 25}