Chapter 10: The Second Badge
Recap: Fang Yuan won the Shang Clan trials and challenged Shang Xin Yue. The battle is set for dawn, with the clan leader's Rank 3 Water Dragon Gu waiting.
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Dawn broke over Shang Clan City like a blade.
Fang Yuan stood at the edge of the training grounds, his grey robes still, his face empty. The platform had been cleared—the pool drained, the stone scrubbed, the arena stripped down to its bare elements. This would be a fight without interference, without escape. Just him and the clan leader.
The crowd was larger than yesterday. Word had spread. A boy from the Gu Yue Clan, barely ten years old, challenging the Shang Clan leader for a mysterious "badge." Merchants had closed their stalls. Disciples had abandoned their training. Even the city's nobles had come, their sedan chairs lining the edges of the grounds, their faces hidden behind silk screens.
They're here to watch me lose. To watch the outsider get crushed.
He didn't care. Winning was all that mattered. Winning was the only thing that had ever mattered.
Shang Xin Yue stepped onto the platform. She wore battle robes today—tight-fitting, blue as the deep sea, her white hair loose around her shoulders. Her Water Dragon Gu coiled at her feet, its scales gleaming, its eyes fixed on Fang Yuan with the patience of a predator.
Beside it, two other Gu hovered. The Icefish Gu he had seen yesterday, its frost trailing. And a third—a small, unremarkable Gu he didn't recognize. A Bubble Gu, he realized. Rank 1. Weak. Almost useless in direct combat.
Why does she have a Bubble Gu? What use is a bubble against a direct attack?
He filed the question away. She wouldn't bring a useless Gu to a fight like this. There was a strategy here he wasn't seeing.
"You came," Shang Xin Yue said.
"I said I would."
"You also said you wanted a badge. A key, you called it." She tilted her head. "What does this key unlock, Fang Yuan? What are you trying to reach?"
He met her gaze. "Freedom."
She laughed—a sharp, surprised sound. "Freedom? You're a Gu Master, boy. We're the least free people in the world. Bound to our Gu, bound to our clans, bound to the will of Heaven itself." Her eyes hardened. "What makes you think a badge will change that?"
Fang Yuan didn't answer. He reached into his robe and pulled out his first Pokeball.
Shang Xin Yue's smile faded. "Very well. Let's see what freedom looks like."
She raised her hand. The match began.
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Fang Yuan moved first.
He threw the Pokeball, and the Rock Skin Gu materialized directly in front of him, its rocky plates already hardening. A wall. A shield. Something to absorb the first attack while he planned his next move.
Shang Xin Yue's Icefish Gu struck before the Rock Skin Gu could settle. A barrage of ice crystals, sharp as blades, slammed into the rocky creature's body. The Rock Skin Gu grunted, its plates cracking, but it held.
"Harden," Fang Yuan said, and the Rock Skin Gu's plates thickened, sealing the cracks.
Shang Xin Yue's Water Dragon Gu moved. It was faster than anything he had faced—a blur of blue scales and white water, its mouth open, a stream of pressurized water already forming.
"Return!"
He recalled the Rock Skin Gu a second before the hydro pump hit. The water struck the empty air where the creature had been, carving a trench in the stone platform.
The crowd gasped. If that had hit—
Fang Yuan was already moving. His second Pokeball was in the air, and the Wind Bird Gu materialized above the platform, its wings beating.
"Gust!"
The vortex of air swept across the platform, kicking up dust, debris, loose stone. Shang Xin Yue's Icefish Gu faltered, its frost melting in the wind. The Water Dragon Gu hissed, its aim disrupted.
But the Bubble Gu—the small, unremarkable Bubble Gu—drifted through the wind as if it weren't there. Its surface shimmered, and a bubble, small and delicate, floated toward the Wind Bird Gu.
Fang Yuan saw it coming. "Dodge."
The Wind Bird Gu twisted, but the bubble was faster. It struck the creature's wing and—did nothing. Just popped, leaving a wet spot on the feathers.
What?
Shang Xin Yue smiled. "You don't understand, do you? My Gu aren't just for fighting. They're for controlling. For shaping the battlefield."
She raised her hand, and the Bubble Gu released another bubble. Then another. Then another. Soon, the air above the platform was thick with them, drifting, floating, waiting.
"Every bubble is a trap," Shang Xin Yue said. "Your flying Gu can't move without popping one. And when it pops—"
She snapped her fingers.
The bubble that had popped on the Wind Bird Gu's wing exploded.
Not a big explosion—just a small burst of water, enough to unbalance the creature, send it tumbling. The Wind Bird Gu screeched, its wings beating frantically, but more bubbles were already drifting toward it.
Fang Yuan recalled it before they could connect.
Bubble Gu. Not an attacker. A trap setter. She's filling the arena with mines, controlling where I can move, where I can fight.
He needed a new approach.
He released the Fire Cricket Gu. The tiny insect materialized, its body glowing, and Fang Yuan pointed at the nearest cluster of bubbles.
"Ember."
The stream of fire shot forward, igniting the bubbles in a chain of small explosions. The platform shook. The crowd cried out. And for a moment, the air cleared.
Shang Xin Yue's Bubble Gu drifted back, its surface dimming. It had been forced to retreat.
But the Water Dragon Gu was already moving.
Fang Yuan recalled the Fire Cricket Gu before the hydro pump could hit. The water struck the platform where he had been standing, carving another trench. He was running out of space.
She's herding me. Pushing me toward the edge. If I fall off the platform, I lose.
He released his Vine Gu. Its tendrils shot out, wrapping around the Water Dragon Gu's neck. The creature thrashed, its scales cutting into the vines, but the Vine Gu held.
"Bind! Hold it!"
The Water Dragon Gu's struggles slowed. Its mouth opened, water gathering, but the Vine Gu's grip was choking it, cutting off its attack.
Shang Xin Yue's Icefish Gu struck. A barrage of ice crystals shredded the Vine Gu's tendrils, and the creature recoiled, its body bleeding sap.
Fang Yuan recalled it a second before the Water Dragon Gu's hydro pump could finish it.
Three Subjects down. Three injured. And he had only scratched his opponent.
I need to change the battlefield. I need to fight on my terms.
He released the White Boar Gu.
The massive beast materialized with a ground-shaking thud, its tusks gleaming, its eyes fixed on the Water Dragon Gu. The crowd went silent. They had heard rumors of the creature, but seeing it—two hundred pounds of muscle and fury—was something else.
Shang Xin Yue's eyes widened. "That's a Rank 2 White Boar Gu. How did you—"
"Charge."
The White Boar Gu lowered its head and ran.
It was a missile, unstoppable, its hooves shattering the stone beneath it. The Water Dragon Gu tried to dodge, but the platform was too small, the space too tight. The boar's tusks struck the dragon's side, and the creature screamed—a high, piercing sound that cut through the crowd's murmurs.
The Water Dragon Gu crashed into the pool, its body sinking beneath the water. For a moment, there was silence.
Then the water erupted.
The Water Dragon Gu burst from the pool, its scales gleaming, its eyes blazing. It was angry now—truly angry—and its hydro pump was already forming.
Fang Yuan recalled the White Boar Gu a second before the water struck. The blast carved a hole in the platform where the creature had been standing, sending stone and dust flying.
He was down to his last three Subjects. The Lotus Gu. The Water Flea Gu. And the Moonlight Gu—his first capture, his weakest.
It's not enough. I need more. I need—
The creature stirred inside him.
You need me.
Fang Yuan's hand went to his chest. The cracked stone was hot now, pulsing with a rhythm that matched his heartbeat.
Not yet.
She will kill you if you don't. Her Water Dragon Gu is Rank 3. Her Icefish Gu is Rank 2. And her Bubble Gu is still there, waiting. You have nothing left that can touch her.
Fang Yuan looked at the platform. Shang Xin Yue stood at the center, her Gu arrayed before her. The Water Dragon Gu was wounded but still fighting. The Icefish Gu was unharmed. The Bubble Gu was already releasing new bubbles, filling the air again.
He had one chance. One gamble.
He released the Lotus Gu.
The flower materialized in a burst of golden light, its petals open, its core blazing. Shang Xin Yue's Water Dragon Gu recoiled—grass type, light type, a natural counter to water.
"Petal Dance!"
The Lotus Gu's petals spun, scattering golden light across the platform. The bubbles in the air popped, one by one, their explosions harmless against the flower's light. The Icefish Gu's frost melted. The Water Dragon Gu hissed, its scales cracking under the golden assault.
But Shang Xin Yue was smiling.
"You think a flower can beat me?" She raised her hand. "Hydro pump. Full power."
The Water Dragon Gu opened its mouth, and the water that emerged was not a stream but a torrent—a wall of water that swept across the platform, swallowing the golden light, swallowing the Lotus Gu, swallowing everything.
Fang Yuan dove to the side. The water caught his legs, pulled him toward the edge. He grabbed the platform's rim, his fingers slipping on the wet stone.
The Lotus Gu was gone. Swept into the pool, its petals torn, its light extinguished.
He recalled it blindly, not knowing if it was alive or dead.
Shang Xin Yue walked toward him, her Water Dragon Gu coiling at her side. "It's over, boy. You fought well. Better than anyone expected. But you're out of tricks."
Fang Yuan pulled himself onto the platform. His robes were soaked. His hands were bleeding. And he had one Subject left.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Moonlight Gu's Pokeball.
Shang Xin Yue laughed. "A Moonlight Gu? A Rank 1 Light Gu? That's your final stand?"
Fang Yuan released it.
The silver insect materialized, its glow faint, its wings trembling. It was nothing compared to the Water Dragon Gu. Nothing compared to the Icefish Gu. Nothing compared to the Bubble Gu.
But it was all he had.
"Flash," he said.
The Moonlight Gu pulsed. A burst of silver light, weak, flickering. The Water Dragon Gu didn't even flinch.
Shang Xin Yue shook her head. "Pathetic."
She raised her hand for the final blow.
And Fang Yuan smiled.
"Fusion," he said.
The creature inside him erupted.
It was not a command. It was not a choice. It was the creature itself, surging through his veins, through his bones, through his soul. The Moonlight Gu's light flared—not silver, but black, a darkness that swallowed the morning sun.
The crowd screamed. Shang Xin Yue stumbled backward, her Gu recoiling. And Fang Yuan—Fang Yuan became something else.
His body did not change. He was still ten years old, still small, still weak. But the creature's presence filled him, wrapped around him, made him something more than human. His eyes became silver mirrors. His skin became cold. And when he raised his hand, the shadows around him rose.
"What—what are you?" Shang Xin Yue's voice was barely a whisper.
Fang Yuan didn't answer. He looked at the Water Dragon Gu, and the creature flinched—flinched as if it had seen something ancient, something terrible, something that should not exist.
"Yield," he said.
His voice was not his own. It was the creature's voice, old and cold and vast.
Shang Xin Yue stared at him for a long moment. Then she lowered her hand.
"I yield."
The crowd was silent. The Water Dragon Gu retreated. The Icefish Gu hid behind its master. The Bubble Gu popped its last bubble and drifted to the ground.
Fang Yuan stood alone on the platform, the shadows fading, the creature receding. The Moonlight Gu's light returned to silver, weak, flickering. He recalled it.
Shang Xin Yue walked toward him. Her face was pale, her hands trembling, but her voice was steady.
"You wanted a badge." She pulled a small, blue token from her robes—a teardrop shape, carved from sapphire, gleaming in the morning light. "Take it."
Fang Yuan took the badge. The moment his fingers touched the blue stone, the system flared.
[Gym Badge Acquired: Shang Badge]
[2/8 Badges Obtained]
[Unlocked: Evolution Stones now available in Shop]
[Unlocked: Increased capture limit to 18 total Subjects]
[Second Badge Bonus: 100 Primeval Stones]
His status updated: Primeval Stones: 153.
He slipped the badge into his pocket and turned to leave.
"Fang Yuan." Shang Xin Yue's voice stopped him. "What was that? At the end. What did you become?"
He looked back at her. His eyes were his own again—dark, cold, patient.
"A demon," he said.
He walked off the platform and didn't look back.
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The crowd parted for him. Merchants, disciples, nobles—all of them stepped aside, their faces pale, their whispers following him like smoke.
He walked through the city gates, past the guards who had stopped him three days ago, past the canals where he had captured the Water Flea Gu, past the greenhouse where he had stolen the Lotus Gu.
He walked until the city was a smudge on the horizon, until the forest closed around him, until he was alone.
Then he collapsed.
The creature's power had drained him. His limbs were heavy, his vision blurred, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He lay on the forest floor, staring up at the canopy, his hands trembling.
You survived, the creature whispered.
Fang Yuan closed his eyes. "Barely."
You won. That's all that matters.
He reached into his pocket and touched the two badges. The silver moon. The blue teardrop.
Two down. Six to go.
He slept.
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End of Chapter 10