The spirit world is broken and in desperate need of a restoration. True heroes and ancient beasts that once walked are now a thing of the past. Between the empty spaces of forgotten treasure halls there are whispers of one who has returned. One lege...
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Ham Song held his breath and watched the massive playback screens with unblinking eyes. He didn't care what was going on with the other clones. He was only focused on Sun Ritsu.
It wasn't long before half of the competition was thrown off of the platform thanks to that one sumo wrestler. To Ham Song's horror, Sun Ritsu still hadn't found a way to remove the earring from his ear.
"What the hell is he doing?" Ham Song squealed. "And who in heaven's name is he talking to?"
Sun Seven squinted up at the giant screen and whistled. "Damn, porky pie. You've got sharp eyes."
"He's probably trying to convince his staff to help him," Bodhi said. "The Golden-Hooped Rod of Compliance is semi-sentient afterall."
Ham Song had no idea how the monk could stay so calm in a situation like this. Especially when they didn't even have any alcohol handy.
Bodhi added, "Something tells me that even though Ritsu has the strength to wield it, the Rod itself won't easily take a command unless it respects the wielder first."
Seven arched an eyebrow. "But didn't we see Ritsu take control when he stood up to Sun Tie Quan yesterday? He seemed to know exactly how the Rod would react in that situation."
Bodhi nodded. "I think in that moment, Sun Ritsu did have the staff's respect. But if the staff treats every call to action as a request, it could be that it only acts on a case by case basis. Basically, Sun Ritsu has to prove that he's a worthy, competent wielder each time he wants something from his weapon. And I don't think he's there yet."
Ham Song didn't think so either.
"This is so frustrating," the pig grumbled. "We didn't have any time to prepare for this!"
"That's the point," Bodhi said. "They want to have a bloodbath upfront so the rest of the competition will have a more focused narrative. These tournaments like to establish favorites and front runners early on."
"I get that, Bodhi. I really do." Ham Song huffed. "But eight? Eight contestants out of hundreds?"
Bodhi shook their head. "Doesn't matter if they only had spots for three or even two. From there, you can drag out a competition as long as you'd like, trust me."
"Ah-ah-hey! Ritsu's been hit!"
Both Ham Song and Bodhi tore the attention away from each other and back on the mega screens.
"Ohhhh damn! Shit. I mean darn!! Ack! I meant to say shoot! My apologies to the Cute Code Committee, but did you see that just now? Looks like some poor soul just got knocked out by a boomerang staff. Let's play that back."
Ham Song's jowls quivered as he watched Ritsu's deer-in-headlights face get t-boned by an aerial weapon. The mega screen slowed it down again and again until everyone could see the exact point of contact and watch the split fly as Sun Ritsu got KO'd.
