The Urban Dao Child

Yang Dao and Feng Yun were given a luxurious room in the palace to rest till the duel began. This was a bit surprising to the boy. He asked Dawn, "Such a luxurious room. Are you sure we are the challengers and not the winners?"

Dawn chuckled and said, "This is a way to show respect to the challenger for his/her bravery and courage. Nothing else. You rest well, someone will call you when the duel begins."

That said, the girl left the two people in the resting room. A king-sized bed in the center, adorned by a silk sheet. A chandelier of rubika crystals hung down from the ceiling. The exquisiteness of the chandelier even made Feng Yun nod in appreciation. Don't think that she is the phoenix so she was omnipotent.

She was the incarnation of the heavenly spirit and every place was new to her as well, but due to her temperament, she did not look like a plebeian in the palace. Yang Dao was not a normal man, so he was also unfazed by this.

The main reason for such luxury to be allowed for a challenger was to let him relax. What happens when you relax before an important event? The accumulated stress and fatigue washes over you, lowering your performance output. In a battle that would spell defeat.

The other effect of such a setting would be to portray the generosity of the champion. Since the champion is generous and does not make things difficult, that would mean he was not bothered by the challenge. This would make the challenger doubt the situation. They will start to doubt their own strength and TADA, lack of confidence will make them lose.

The human mind was a weird thing, it did not need any external force to tip the balance. The constant thought process was like a see-saw. Once it tips, it will need a counterweight to shift it back, but when you are the one who tipped it, it gets hard to find the center.  Filled with self-doubt when you face a problem, you will eventually fail. It was just that simple.

Feng Yun sat down on a couch in the corner of the room and leaned on the backrest with her left leg crossed over her right. Her fingers gently tapped the armrests as she closed her eyes.

Yang Dao sat on the ground with his eyes closed. He was not bothered by anything and focused on maintaining his peak state for the coming duel. He did not have the habit to look down on the enemy. Who knows what cards he held.

Feng Yun sighed and said, "Dao, why do you bother so much?"

Yang Dao opened his eyes and spoke in a slow voice, "Not bothered but why let down your guard and be caught in the blind spot?"

Feng Yun asked, "Do you think he is so strong that he deserves your attention?"

Yang Dao said, "If the flame was all about strength, he would not have given us such a room."

His one sentence was enough to make Feng Yun smile. She was testing him. The boy asked, "Why do you always keep testing me?"

Feng Yun said, "The journey to the greater Dao is a test. It is not only a test for the Dao Child but also the familiars. We have failed a lot many times. However, never have we been this far in the journey. So, constant tests are what make a person grow. Constant growth makes them move forward."

Yang Dao nodded, he asked, "Did the predecessors generate in Liro as well?"

Feng Yun shook her head as she replied, "There are countless worlds and countless dimensions. Each is different from the other. They were all in random worlds. However, the actions a Dao child takes in his world, will somehow, reflect on every other mortal world."

Yang Dao nodded and said, "Well, let me meditate. I just want to think."

Feng Yun nodded and let him be as she sat on the couch, maintaining vigilance. She was aware that the boy will try to comprehend the laws of creation and destruction. Time passed quickly, they did not communicate much but kept sitting in the meditative posture.

Suddenly, the door of the room was knocked. Feng Yun took the lead to attend. She found a maid dressed in humble attire standing outside. She said, "The challenger is summoned to the arena."

Her tone was not sitting well with Feng Yun but the boy behind her put a hand on her shoulder. Yang Dao was now two meters tall while Feng Yun was two heads smaller than him. He said, "We shall go."

The maid did not say anything else, with a stoic expression she walked ahead. Feng Yun grits her teeth and said in a low voice, "Beat that guy to the pulp. Or I burn this place to vapors."

Yang Dao gulped, these people flared up the temper of the phoenix. He nodded and followed the maid with Feng Yun. After a few twists and turns, they were brought to the ground. The place was not very big just half a football field. Yang Dao spotted drums lined up at the edge of the square field. Behind the drums cascading seats were arranged with four high pavilions to allow a better view of the duel.

In the middle of the field stood a man, with his long gray hair falling down on his back, like a smoke cloud. He wore a brocade shirt and black pants. Given the outline of his body, Yang Dao could tell that the man was physically not weak. He could even sense a strong source of energy radiating from the man.

Feng Yun snapped her fingers all of a sudden and the source energy condensed into a sword embryo. She held the hilt of the sword, the source energy faded away revealing the glinting metal sword. The blade had a tint of vermillion, the hilt was shaped like a phoenix, studded with ruby gems and golden carvings. A long thread hung from the end of the hilt with a feather tied to it.

She handed the sword to Yang Dao and said, "Your second armament, Fire Feather." that was all the introduction given to him, and that was all he needed.. Yang Dao held the sword hilt in his hand and the blade seemed to have come to life.