39-2

In two lines opposing stood soldiers with spears, Ning Zhuo grasped his and quickly disarmed his opponent with ease.  Sitting on a dais above them was an empty chair and a subordinate who stood next to the chair with a bemused expression as he directed the traffic of losers and winners.  The bouts were decided by the subordinate on a chalkboard behind him as the main chair sat vacant.

After his quicker bouts, Ning Zhuo would sit at the foot of the dais and watch the other soldiers who took much longer than he did to battle it out.   Mostly the deciding factor was who was used to using sword staffs.  In most cases, it was the more wealthy or larger opponents.  Ning Zhuo was lucky in the couple tries that he had so far that he had idiots. 

As he rose again as someone called him for a new bout, the subordinate took the weapon out of his hand.  "No."

"For what reason?"  Ning Zhuo asked with irritation.  "I won the la