On the training ground, all the disciples were lined up, ready for their training.
All of them currently wore the tunics that came with their packages, as well as holding a wooden sword in their hands.
Gu Xuanming was at the far-left end of the row, wearing his black tunic, which was layered atop a red shirt, the sleeveless visible under, with martial arts slippers and his hair tied up into a ponytail with a red band.
The tunic itself was also uniquely designed to represent the Gu Clan, with demons on its back.
Gu Xuanming looked at his brother, who was in the middle of every disciple, wearing an average tunic, nothing special about it, not even representing his clan.
It was no surprise.
After all, why have the failure represent when your son, who is a B-grade talent, exists.
It only made sense for him to be the representative.
And on the far left, Zhao Cangsheng was on the complete other side, dressed in a tunic that made it seem like he had surpassed his father in status.
He stood firm and confident like a nobleman, his arms crossed and a wooden sword stabbed in the ground.
It was clear he had a cocky attitude.
But Gu Xuanming hadn’t really seen just what kind of person Zhao Cangsheng is.
He was always too busy with his own cultivation, and he still is.
But he figured he should understand what kind of person Zhao Cangsheng is.
If he did, he could assess if he also had something to do with the assassination attempt.
Luo Jingyuan, another elder of the sect, had arrived on the scene, for he was tall, with long brown hair, wearing a white tunic with a black wrap.
The way he carried himself as he moved was nothing short of a grandmaster.
His chest was up, his hands were behind his back, and when he looked at the disciples, his eyes held indifference, as if he were disappointed just by looking at them.
His eyes in particular were set on Gu Xuanming, his expression matching Gu Xuanming’s cold gaze.
Gu Xuanming noticed the elder looking at him, keeping his expression straight and unflinching like stone.
After their silence, Luo Jingyuan turned back to the disciples, standing on the porch.
“Disciples!
Today you will be training under me from now on!”
“Understand that even if you are at your 1st stars, you are still weak!”
“Observe.”
Luo Jingyuan unsheathed the sword by his hip, immediately following up with a powerful swing that cut through the air!
This swing was strong enough to cut down the leaf that had fallen from the tree with perfect precision.
Gu Xuanming was impressed by such accuracy.
Not even his father taught him such skill.
Moreover, he wasn’t taught how to use a sword, only kunai and chains, since they were among the many effective weapons for self-defense.
“We shall start off simple.
Find an opponent among yourselves and fight.
That will be your partner for the day.
I wish to see your capabilities now so I can understand what to teach tomorrow.”
His gaze immediately shifted to Gu Xuanming, sneering at him.
Gu Xuanming glanced around, searching for an opponent, when someone approached him.
“Brother!”
Nangong Xuanhe approached his brother, aiming his sword at his brother’s face.
“Fight me!”
All the disciples glanced over at the two brothers, murmuring amongst each other.
“A fight between brothers?”
“A rather arrogant declaration for being a C-grade talent like us.”
“He should know his place.
The gap between a C and B grade talent is like heaven and the abyss.”
Hearing their words, he tuned them out, his eyes burning with fury rivaling a beast!
He didn’t care what they had to say!
He had his heaven-defying treasure, and he would beat his brother with it!
Gu Xuanming scanned his brother up and down with a stone expression; he was amused.
He had believed his brother had gone senile at this point.
After seeing his brother look at nothing, he assumed his brother was losing grip with reality.
Gu Xuanming shifted his gaze over to Luo Jingyuan, who was waiting for his response.
He then looked up, seeing the sect leader waiting above at the top of the sect leader’s building.
‘I’m being watched…’
He faced his brother again, raising his sword.
However, I will only fight you if you follow my conditions.”
“Conditions?” Nangong Xuanhe questioned.
He squinted his eyes, suspicious of his brother’s intentions, but he decided to comply for now.
“What?”
“If you lose this fight, then from this point forward, every day, everyone here will be forced to give me 1 primordial stone.”
Silence!
Everyone was furious at his claim.
“Hey, why are we involved!?”
“This is between you both!”
Gu Xuanming paid no mind to them, looking at his brother only, who had a confused expression.
He tried to understand his brother’s bold choice of action, but as far as he was aware, there was no point.
He hadn’t even thought his brother would think of something like this, seeing how closed off he was.
“And what do I get if I win?” Nangong Xuanhe asked.
“I’m not just going to fight without benefits?”
Gu Xuanming lowered his sword.
“You tell me.
I don’t know what you want.”
Nangong Xuanhe fell silent.
He thought about it for a moment, thinking about what he wanted in exchange for his victory.
Then he looked at his brother and smirked.
“You will tell Father to give me 1,000 primordial stones!”
His voice echoed across the courtyard, and everyone began laughing at him.
“Come on, does he really think he’ll win?”
“That guy’s a real clown.”
The disciples continued mocking him, except for the elder and Zhao Cangsheng, who saw no point in mockery.
Hell, he found it pointless.
“Okay.” Gu Xuanming said.
He raised his sword, walking to the center of the training grounds.
His brother followed behind him, and everyone cleared out, surrounding the grounds.
Gu Xuanming locked eyes with his brother, yet Nangong Xuanhe still couldn’t look his brother in the eyes, even after establishing equal ground between them.
He still felt inferior.
Throughout this whole interaction, his brother didn’t even spare a hint of emotion toward him.
‘I will defeat you, brother.
With this treasure, I’ll suppress you!’ He boldly declared in his heart.
Gu Xuanming readied himself for combat, using what little he knew about the sword to his advantage.
Nangong Xuanhe, on the other hand, had trained diligently with the sword.
While still at the newbie level, he still surpassed his brother in that department, and he was sure of it.
Luo Jingyuan stood between the two brothers, his arm between them.
“This is a fair duel.
No cheating, no tricks, no bloodshed.
You lose if you cannot stand or surrender.
Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir!” Nangong Xuanhe said.
Gu Xuanming nodded.
“Fight!”
The wind blew, and a shockwave hit the elder!
Gu Xuanming had used his sword to block Nangong Xuanhe’s strike.
Immediately, Gu Xuanming could feel the weight of the strike.
‘He’s strong.’
Gu Xuanming leaped back, one hand behind his back, the other holding his sword.
Nangong Xuanhe didn’t allow him time to recover, holding the hilt with both hands and lunging towards his brother!
Krak!
Krak!
Krak!
Nangong Xuanhe had moved with menace, each strike like the claw of a hungry beast.
“Can’t keep up?” He said, shouting with arrogance.
Gu Xuanming had done his best, maneuvering and parrying, but the skill gap was too wide.
Swoosh!
Gu Xuanming was nearly struck by an attack from below aimed at his chin!
“Tch!”
Nangong Xuanhe heard the sound leave his mouth, his lips curling into a smile.
“Finally!”
His smile morphed into a grin, becoming more aggressive with each attack.
Gu Xuanming was starting to lose his edge!
He had no choice but to use both of his hands now.
At first, he wanted to make an example out of his brother, wanting to instill fear, mainly in Zhao Cangsheng, despite the gap in skill, but it seems he was no longer in control.
“Ha!” Nangong Xuanhe proclaimed!
He caught his brother off guard and was ready to beat him down right here and now!
‘…so that’s it!’
Gu Xuanming had been analyzing how he swung, and with how much force, and from what he gathered, his attacks were quite repetitive.
It was like spamming a single move over and over, just in different directions, making it seem as if he were being diverse in his attacks.
There was also the fact that his muscles flexed each time, showing that he was augmenting his body to make each attack hit hard, but it seemed automatic, like he wasn’t the one doing it.
In fact, it’s almost like he was doing it subconsciously.
Relaxing this, Gu Xuanming started to suspect something was up with his brother.
There was no way C-grade talent should have been able to do this!
He decided to augment his own muscles, going beyond what his brother was doing.
He augmented his right arm, buffing the muscles.
Even though he hadn’t opened all 72 meridians, opening only about 5 at the moment, it was still more than enough since he forced the Qiang Qi around him into his body with great suction!
This made his muscles stronger and allowed him to swing his arm with such force that he almost knocked his brother unconscious when striking him on the head.
“Gah!”
Nangong Xuanhe felt the full force of such an attack, his vision blurry and his balance off.
He tried to regain focus, but Gu Xuanming had had enough.
He had entertained him long enough.
He swung his wooden sword!
Crack!
The wooden blade broke, but the force with which he hit his brother was enough to knock him out cold.
After the battle, everyone fell silent.
They hadn’t expected such swordsmanship from the retard of their generation.
Gu Xuanming glanced at the elder and the leader, noting their impressed faces.
He also looked at Lin Suwen, and he had a disgusted look on her face.
He knew it must have been because his brother dared to challenge him.
‘Are you really C-grade talent?’ He thought.
He decided to keep an eye on his brother, looking at Luo Jingyuan.
“…Gu Xuanming is the winner.”
Everyone glared at Nangong Xuanhe with hatred and anger.
Because of him, they now had to pay Gu Xuanming one spirit stone every day.
Gu Xuanming looked towards every other disciple, even Zhao Cangsheng, who didn’t seem concerned.
In fact, he was the first to walk forward with a primordial stone.
Gu Xuanming pulled out his hand, and Zhao Cangsheng dropped the stone in his hand.
“One stone is no big deal.”
He turned back with a smile, walking back without saying anything anymore.
The other disciples followed his example, giving Gu Xuanming one spirit stone.
By this point, Luo Jingyuan started to question his authority.
Was this really his class or Gu Xuanming’s?
He had completely taken control of the entire situation.
‘You accursed devil.
I swear I will make sure you commit a demonic act and get you executed.’