Wu Chen returned to meet Wu Ying and compare food bowls. There was no competition. Wu Ying won, hands down. It didn't take them long to finish their lukewarm meals, so they still had a decent amount of time before their next rounds. They dropped the bowls off at the nearby dish stand and started heading back towards their battle area.

'You know,' Wu Chen ventured, 'it would probably be a good idea to check out the competition in the other elemental arenas. Especially since we'll probably be fighting them eventually.'

'That makes sense.' agreed Wu Ying easily. 'Which one do you want to check out first?'

Naturally, since the Fire stages were the closest to their Lightning stages, it seemed fitting that they use their limited time to start there. They quickly headed towards the Fire stages.

There weren't nearly as many fire element cultivators near the Wu Clan's territory, so they only warranted two stages. In fact, this year's festival only had four elements to host, as those were all that had made it in time for the entry deadline.

The brothers found a seat easily and sat down to watch a few matches. Wu Chen kept looking around, searching for that elusive cultivator. However, his brother just found it annoying and told him to settle down already.

Once Wu Chen focused on the fights going on in the arenas, he found himself fascinated. Fire was much more predictable than lightning, but it was a downright deadly element to deal with in an enclosed space. As his mind began creating battle strategies, he sunk deeper into the element of fire itself. What were its allies? What were its enemies?

He considered the many faces of fire. It could provide warmth to cold hands, yet it could also cause burns should you touch it. It could chase away the dark with its light, but it could destroy and darken entire cities. It was friend and foe both at the same time, an animalistic element that ate and breathed like a living creature. The deeper he delved, the more expansive his knowledge became. It was an epiphany of fire, and the knowledge brought him so close to the edge of the 9th level he could almost touch it.

His aura surged with the attainment, and Wu Ying raised a protection ward around the audience since moving away wasn't an option. Once his aura died down to manageable levels, and he'd had some time to process what he'd learned, Wu Ying would wake him gently.

After two rounds of fighting had gone by, both of which he missed, Wu Chen felt that he had gained what he could through contemplation. Slowly, he returned to reality. He was still so enthralled that he almost forgot he still had a few more rounds to go through himself. Thankfully, Wu Ying was happy to remind him in his usual way...a nice poke to his ribs.

They rushed back to the Lightning stages, only to find out that two of the other competitors had gotten severely injured and couldn't continue. That meant that the brothers each had only one more fight left to go. With a quick grip of their forearms, they separated. Each to different stages.

Wu Chen entered his stage, his qi circulating and filling Xiao Lei as he quietly studied his newest opponent. This guy was huge! He was at least two heads taller than Wu Chen and twice as broad. Wu Chen couldn't remember seeing him around, so he had to be one of the rogue cultivators. As a relative unknown, it was hard to create a proper strategy. This time, he'd have to play it by ear.

A slow grin appeared on his handsome face. Now, this was a challenge!

Wu Chen dropped into a sword stance, right high, Xiao Lei low, and waited to see what this behemoth would do. He noticed idly that the guy didn't seem to have a weapon, and he found that a little odd.

Suddenly, he was right in front of him, arms extended to grab him in a bear hug! How could something that big move so fast? Wu Chen spun out of his grip and dropped low, anticipating his opponent would try speed again. He was right, and the guy tripped over him, his hulking body crashing unceremoniously onto the arena floor with a thud. Enhanced Speed was a surprising move from a man of his size and could have been deadly if Wu Chen had been any slower in reacting.

Unfortunately, speed maneuvers were notorious for consuming large amounts of qi and requiring great concentration. He would have to move fast to prevent giving his opponent any more opportunities.

Not wasting any more time, Wu Chen danced with the blades. His steps were both graceful and agile. He wove his swords intricately, blades shimmering, armor tiles tinkling, and robes billowing as he spun. He danced forward, then back, creating little cuts here and little cuts there. Always staying just a little out of reach and never giving his opponent a chance to mount an attack or replenish his qi.

The audience was mesmerized. As Wu Chen leapt and twirled, his movements precise and elegant, the image of a mythical sword immortal unfolded. Steel glinted like starlight, and his silver sleeves extended like the wings of a majestic crane. There were deep sighs and appreciative glances as he seemed to almost float around his much larger opponent. Wu Chen's magnificent sword dance was truly the embodiment of grace at its finest.

Finally, the big guy stopped, his face red with frustration and anger. He was bleeding from hundreds of tiny cuts, and his hands shook slightly as he shot a single ball of lightning towards Wu Chen. It was a desperate move he really didn't have the power for and was wholly ineffective as it was easily dodged by the agile Wu Chen.

That was it. He had nothing left. The big man simply dropped to the ground, groggy with qi depletion, blood loss, and physical exhaustion.

Wu Chen nodded to himself. It was just as he'd suspected. That early speed had cost his opponent far too much qi with his bulk.

Wu Chen walked up to him calmly and held the tip of Xiao Lei to his throat. The win was his.

At first, there was nothing. Then, like a dam burst, the audience started screaming and clapping. Wu Chen was caught off guard, and his head snapped up in pleasant surprise. The tips of his ears reddened slightly at the crowd's unexpected reaction.

He nodded his thanks to everyone as he left the stage amidst back slaps and cheers. He carefully maneuvered his way through the appreciative crowd, trying to get closer to the stage set up for the Lightning Finals. Feeling a strong presence, Wu Chen glanced up in time to see Lu Yong leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, as though he had been waiting for him.

Wu Chen stopped a few feet from him and nodded.

Lu Yong nodded back, but he added softly, 'That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.'

Then, with a warm smile, he shoved himself off the wall and walked away. His dark robed form melted into the crowd, disappearing like smoke in a breeze. Wu Chen was left standing there with his mouth open, heart beating wildly.

He didn't have much time to enjoy his Guardian's unexpected compliment. He shook his head to rein in his wayward thoughts and hurried off to the Finals stage. Wu Ying leaned against the entry, his smile wide. It figured he was going to have to fight his own brother. He was actually quite pleased at the thought that they had each managed to get to this point. His father would be very proud of them both.

They were led to a small area where they could take a short rest before the final fight. Both men used the time to replenish their qi and were more than ready when their escort returned to guide them back to the stage.

'Are you sure about this?' Wu Chen whispered to Wu Ying as they entered the slightly larger stage.

'What's to be sure about?' his brother asked him with a grin. 'You're clearly going to kick my ass. I'm pretty darn sure about that.'

Wu Chen punched his arm, and the two brothers took their places at opposite ends...swords drawn.

'Hey, Wu Ying!' shouted Wu Chen.

'Yeah?'

'You want to do swords or lightning?'

'I'll have a better chance with lightning.' Wu Ying admitted.

'Okay, let's do that then.' Wu Chen said as he sheathed his swords.

Wu Ying had barely sheathed his own sword when he suddenly performed a quick hand seal and sent a dozen lightning shards barreling towards Wu Chen.

'Dance your way out of that, didi!' he laughed as he ran to the far end of the arena to gain more time.

Wu Chen performed an intricate seal and casually plucked the shards out of the sky. With a flip of his wrist, he sent them right back to his brother, who avoided them easily in his headlong run. Wu Chen sprinted towards a different spot in the arena as well. His mind focused on his next move.

Wu Ying had a head start, so he was more than ready. He clapped his hands together and pulled them apart slowly. Blue lightning arced and spit between his fingers, lighting his face and illuminating his easy grin. In one burst, he pushed his palms outward, and the powerful lightning beam raced from his glowing palms towards Wu Chen at an alarming rate.

Wu Chen stopped and performed a series of seals, his fingers flying. A glowing shield of golden lightning formed before him and absorbed the blue lightning hurtling his way. The arcing, spitting shield grew in size with the added power, deadly lightning racing all along the edges. Then, he waved his hand in a fluid motion, and the shield began spinning rapidly before laying on its side.

Wu Chen glanced up, his eyes shining, and threw his arm out, finger pointing towards Wu Ying. The shield responded with alacrity and shot towards its target with unerring accuracy.

Wu Ying's eyes widened, and he took off, hoping the strange shield would weaken before causing any real damage. Only then might he get a chance to retaliate. His mind raced, discarding a dozen options as he did his best to escape the flying menace.

But the weird lightning shield stuck to him no matter what. If that wasn't bad enough, after a short time of playing chase, the thing started shooting lightning bolts towards him too! There were no signs that the deadly shield was growing any less powerful than when it had first left its master. If anything, it appeared to be growing stronger instead.

Eventually, he really just couldn't run anymore, and the thing wasn't giving him enough time to create something impressive to stop it. He simply wasn't accomplished enough to perform the intricate hand seals he needed to while running. He had lost, and rightly so. Wu Ying dropped to one knee and shouted, 'I concede!'

Wu Chen performed a quick hand seal, then threw out a fist and clenched it. The deadly shield exploded in midair, looking just like golden fireworks. He rushed over, and with a wide grin, he offered a hand to the exhausted Wu Ying. His brother cocked a brow and gripped Wu Chen's hand to help himself up.

'I told you you'd kick my ass.' Wu Ying panted, straightening his lightly scorched robes. 'When did you learn that stupid shield thing, and more importantly, when can I learn it?' he grumbled.

'If you focus a little more on your cultivation and finally break through into the 5th level of Foundation Building, I'll be happy to help you.' Wu Chen replied offhandedly. Wu Ying just rolled his eyes.

Wu Chen had taken the title of Lord of Lightning. It was a stupid, worthless title, only meant for the competition. However, it was his ticket into the final rounds against all the other victorious Element Lords. Next, he'd have to flex some real muscles. He wasn't that familiar with the other elements or their maneuvers. It was a true test of what he could actually do under pressure with unfamiliar foes.

He was greatly looking forward to it.