Tiger's Beautiful Daughter places her golden, half-mask on her face and takes a dance-like position with her fans while Davos takes an offensive stance. Danny and the others watch with interest and Lei Kung watches with a bittersweet expression on his face.
"What was it you told me earlier?," Hua asks, "About this match?"
"I said it was only practice," he answers plainly.
"Right," she narrows her eyes.
The monk drops the flag and the two race toward one another. Hua strikes first with an upward swing that forces Davos to slide on his knees across the sandy arena floor. She twirls and brings the second fan down, so Davos rolls to the side and rises with a knee to her face plate. She stumbles back but quickly regains her balance as she spins with both her fans nearly slashing Davos' face. He leaps back and she presses the attack by somersaulting forward with both blades spinning. Davos sidesteps but when she lands, she delivers a kick to his midsection. He hunches from the blow and she brings the edge of her boot into his chin, which knocks him on his back. He snarls angrily and flips onto the balls of his feet, only for Hua to bring her fan down in a sweeping motion. Davos leaps over the blade and comes down with a left jab across her face. She drops on her side along with her mask, then quickly rolls away as he attempts to stomp her into the arena floor, then pursues her as she attempts to get up. Danny watches with concern.
She finally sits up and brings both fans in front of her face, the golden metal surfaces reflecting the Sun's rays. Davos stops for a moment as the reflected light temporarily blinds him, giving Hua the moment she needs to not only stand up but give him a slash above his right knee. Davos stumbles back and falls onto his good leg as blood runs down the other one. Crane Mother grits her teeth angrily.
"Don't be so dramatic," Hua says as she stands over him, "You'll walk again."
"You should have taken the entire limb if you expected to stop me," he sneers.
He bounds into the air on his good leg and brings it around into a flying knee that strikes Hua across the face. She is thrown to the ground again and Davos stands over her. "Hua!," her father shouts from the Council's area. Davos grabs her by the back of her hair and pulls her up with one hand while raising his other fist. She grasps one of her fallen fans and turns, unleashing a desperate slash. The entire audience gasps and Davos screams in agony. His severed hand falls in the sand and he holds what's left of his wrist under his good arm, then drops to his knees. Lei Kung looks away sadly and Crane Mother slams her fist against the wall. Danny continues to watch with great interest. Hua stands up triumphantly and closes both fans, placing them on her belt.
"Now, you've lost a limb," she tells him, "Have more respect the next time we meet."
Davos glares at her with gritted teeth that turns into a sick smile which is soon followed by a faint glow around his injured arm. Danny grows concerned once again and Hua, likewise concerned, steps back as the glow gets brighter. Her father and Lei Kung both stare in horror while Crane Mother begins to smile. He slowly rises to his feet as his strength returns and the glow emits from inside his body. He shouts in a combination of pain and hysteria as the glow around his wrist becomes even more intense and he gradually pulls his arm back, revealing a pillar of energy emerging from the wound. Her tough, nearly emotionless expression soon turns to dread and she pivots back to take a defensive stance with her fans. He continues to scream, veins throbbing along his temples, as the energy forms into the shape of a hand. His expression of pain changes to euphoria and he attacks once again with a violent growl. She spins around to strike but the first blade is swatted out of her grasp by his new appendage. She brings the second one down and it is slapped out of her hand as well. Danny gives a impotent warning shout, "Davos! No!" He ignores the pea and performs an upward chop which connects and sends her flying into the air. Her father's jaw drops in horror as her body falls to the ground, limp. The audience does not cheer but Davos raises his fist in triumph anyway as his energy fist dissolves. Lei Kung shakes his head in disappointment and looks away. Hua lies motionless and takes faint breath; a bloody wound now rests across her chest. The monk drops the flag.
"Davos wins!," Crane Mother announces.
"This is no tournament...," Green Mist says quietly.
"... It's an execution," Danny continues.
Servants quickly rush to take Hua's near-lifeless body out of the arena as the audience stirs. "We are not to find death an acceptable means of victory but it is within the rules of this sacred tournament," Crane Mother reminds them. Her father races through the stands to see his daughter while Danny leaves the basement. "Where are you going?," Dog Brother asks. "I think I can help her," he tells him, "Hopefully, there's time." Crane Mother continues to speak to the audience, "On behalf of my nation, I apologize for any distress this has caused, but we must continue. The first round of the tournament has been completed. Tomorrow, we will begin round two."
In another section of the arena, Hua is laid out in a recovery room on a stone slab. Her costume has been removed and a sheet now covers her body from the shoulders down. She screams in agony as blood soaks through the sheet and the servants prepare bandages for her. Danny rushes in, "I can help," and the servants steps aside to let him through. He concentrates and summons the Iron Fist, "Let's hope all this studying has paid off." His fist only has a faint glow to it as he opens his palm and lays his hand over the wound. Hua stirs and screams as Danny calmly closes his eyes and allows the healing power of the Iron Fist to work. Just then, Hua's father enters the room, "What is he doing?," he shouts at the servants. Hua begins to calm down while the Iron Fist glows brighter and soon, her entire body is relaxed and Danny takes a step back, sweat pouring from his brow. The servants pull the sheet down slightly to examine the wound and in its place is a healed scar. Her eyes snap open and she sits up on the slab, pulling the sheet over her body as she does so, "How dare you!".
Danny scratches his head, "What?".
"You had no right!," she continues.
Danny stares in disbelief as her father rushes to her side and embraces her, "Oh, my daughter."
"Um,... You're welcome?," Danny says in a baffled tone.
He is soon joined by the other Immortal Weapons and the rest of the Council. "She's alive?," Lei Kung asks. "Yeah, I learned a new trick," Danny answers, "Although I guess it wasn't appreciated." Lei Kung turns to him and begins to speak but Danny quickly cuts him off, "There are rules... I know." Crane Mother and Davos are the last to enter and both seem disappointed when they see Tiger's Beautiful Daughter alive.
"I realize there has been quite a bit of excitement today already but I urge all of you to come to my tower," she tells the group, "You will all understand why my champion was late for the last match."
Danny turns to Lei Kung, "I'm heading back to my place. I couldn't care less what she has to show us."
"But Daniel Rand,... This matter concerns you most of all."
He looks at her suspiciously.