It was two days after the big incident, though neither Shen Tianyu nor Rong Jian viewed it as anything particularly big . All the contestants gathered again for the second round of the Goodwill Tournament . Even the wounded Luo Yenmu had some, though carried in on something akin to a wheelchair and wrapped in bandages . He a.s.sured the Crown Prince, who had been the first to run up and question why he was here, that it was all just precautionary measures . Considering his injuries, he would be pulled out form the Tournament and his other matches would be taken up by the other members of his team form Jing Qie and he apologized for that . The Crown Prince rea.s.sured him that it was not a problem and Wen Ya nodded, though with a sour look on her face . Rong Jian impa.s.sively nodded before turning his attention back to the stage .

"If Young Master Luo doesn't feel me unworthy, I would be glad to share the burden . " Shen Tianyu replied with a decent smile .

"Of course not . Miss Shen is talented, how could I dare to have any complaints?" Luo Yenmu returned . They exchanged some minor back and forth words with the Crown Prince standing beside Luo Yenmu the whole time, before she also turned her attention back to the stage and the two boys started talking again .

The star of the day was Wen Ya and her opponent was also a woman from Xi Qi . She was the only female contestant so she was quite well-known . She was Xue Ming from the Xue clan of Xi Qi, who was also a family of officials . Though, women were not permitted to be officials so she didn't have such a glorious future ahead of her .

The two exchanged some pleasantries, though Wen Ya was still as haughty as usual . Wen Ya's weapon for the Talent Show was a sickle and chain . Contrary to popular belief, the weapon's design was quite minimalist, making the weapon's efficiency and sharpness it's main focus rather than looks . The sickle, however, was more a blade than anything with no handle . It was probably thrown by using the velocity of spinning the chain and throwing it in a certain direction . On the other hand, Xue Ming was wearing a leather wristband with metal claws securely attached to it on both hands . There was a skull atop the leather for, what seemed like, aesthetics purposes . Each metal claw extended to about half of a forearm, not too long but definitely long for claws .

'This one seems interesting too . As expected, one's true potential s.h.i.+nes at the hands of their best weapons . What's with the stupid beginning show of sword fighting?' Shen Tianyu leaned back into her cus.h.i.+oned seat, her head leaning on her fist and a smile on her face .

At the start signal, Wen Ya attacked first . She threw her sickle out, holding the end of the chain and leapt forward with it . Xue Ming ran up to meet the weapon without fear and knocked it aside with one claw while trying to reach her opponent with the other . Unfortunately, Wen Ya was just out of reach, and as she pulled the chain, a kick lashed out to kick the claw before she flipped backward . The sickle, controlled by the chain flew back like a boomerang, only to chase Xue Ming . This time, rather than knock it aside, Xue Ming caught it by crossing her claws . Then, she pulled with her claws, trying to make her opponent, who was grabbing onto the other end of the chain, lose her balance . However, Wen Ya saw through her and ran close to her, but not close enough to be hurt by the claws, making the chain go slack . Xue Ming twister her face in annoyance and let the sickle go , das.h.i.+ng forward before it had even hit the ground .

Wen Ya pulled on the chain as she took up some of it's length to block Xue Ming's claws . The chain flew backward before it hit the ground and rounded on Xue Ming's back . Knowing she was pincered, Xue Ming let up her attack and used one claw to block the sickle . At this, Wen Ya kicked up with one of her foot . Not antic.i.p.ating the attack from below, Xue Ming lost her balance but still had the wits to dodge the sickle as she fell . She rolled on her sides to create some distance as Wen Ya spun the chain, her sickle at the end . She knelt to stop her spin and got back on her feet . Wen Ya was rus.h.i.+ng towards her, sickle spinning and she backtracked, not wanting to fight a spinning sickle . Seeing her backtrack, Wen Ya kept pursuing her . Unknown to Xue Ming, she was headed towards one of the craters created three days before during the fight between Shen Tianyu and Ke Qingyan . As Wen Ya had antic.i.p.ated, Xue Ming stepped into it and fell backwards, surprise written on her face . She sent out her sickle to the falling girl, aimed at her head .

"Wen Ya!" The emperor shouted in horror as he stood up, antic.i.p.ating a dreadful incident once again . and so did everyone else, some stood, face a twisted ma.s.s of worry and fright, while others just sat still as if there was no danger at all . Shen Tianyu and Rong Jian being of the latter .

And true to a certain pairs expectations, Wen Ya pulled the chain and it landed beside Xue Ming's face as she sat on the ground from her fall, sticking into the stage and chain pulled taunt .

"Admit defeat . " Wen Ya said with her chin held high .

Xue Ming visibly swallowed and nodded . She got up, dusting off her clothes and bowed to the Master of Ceremonies . "Xue Ming of Xi Qi admits her defeat . " She then bowed to Wen Ya before walking off the stage .

Wen Ya retrieved her sickle and also walked off, not saying another word .

The Master of Ceremonies announced the result and everyone let out a collective sigh of relief that this fight didn't end in bloodshed .