The fight between Lu Yinqiu and Liu Dazhuang was a rather quick one, with Liu Dazhuang taking the winning spot while everyone discarded Lu Yinqiu.
Just by the judgmental gazes of the elders, it was obvious that Lu Yinqiu was not going to become an inner disciple.
The speed at which he was defeated was an embarrassment, and the technique he displayed was but a mere child swinging around a sword.
If anyone could compare, he was but a frog in a well, someone who didn’t understand what was expected of him, and drowned in water that should have been familiar to him.
The next watch was underway…
“And the final of the first matches, Nangong Xuanhe vs Duanmu Yan!” Jiang Haotia shouted.
Glancing down, he thought to himself about this match-up.
‘Nangong Xuanhe… You’ve been improving quite a lot over the days.’
‘From what the reports say, you’ve been learning techniques on the fly and mastering techniques you’ve been taught in a day.’
‘That’s not C-grade talent.
This kind of learning belongs to one of the B-grade and A-grade.
But he didn’t take the steps that would make such a thing happen.’
‘Could he have faked it?
No, that makes no sense.
He says he wants to surpass his brother, so why would he bother faking it if he was at the same level or surpassing Gu Xuanming?’
‘The only way for this to make sense is if he had somehow already known these martial techniques.
I mean, they were all basic techniques, so anyone can have access to them.
But, still, there’s no way he learned all of them, or at least the basics, before coming here.’
Nangong Xuanhe fixed up his white robe and armbands.
He would then stretch, loosening those muscles to allow full freedom of movement.
After taking a deep breath and exhaling, he was ready.
He would not allow himself to lose now.
No.
Not when his brother won his fight.
He clenched his fist with determination, ready to win at all costs!
Facing forward, Duanmu Yan stepped onto the arena, but he did it in a much flashier way.
He had leaped into the air and landed directly on the ground, the dust from his landing covering him partially as it slowly dissipated.
When his full body was revealed, underneath his dark blue martial attire was a set of thin armor perfect for hidden defenses in combat.
In his hand, he swirled the Kanata, treating it like a mere toy rather than a weapon used to protect and kill.
The samurai who stood by had angry faces hidden beneath their masks.
Their piercing gazes; Duanmu Yan could feel them as if there were spikes aimed and pressed against his body.
A faint chuckle left his mouth, enjoying the mental torment he was giving them.
His gaze then shifted to Nangong Xuanhe, who held a stern face.
“You seem pretty determined today.
Care to tell me why?” Duanmu Yan questioned.
Silence.
Nangong Xuanhe refused to respond.
“…I see.
You seem to be quite arrogant.
I would say you dare court death, but we’re not supposed to kill…”
Nangong Xuanhe waited for him to finish, but all he did was smirk, squinting his eyes and showing a little teeth.
‘…this bastard.
He intends to kill me and frame it as an accident.’
After a while of thought, he looked at his brother.
Gu Xuanming had his eyes closed.
‘Damn you… Just you wait, I’ll make you open your eyes!’ Nangong Xuanhe shot an intense glare at Duanmu Yan, calming himself before preparing to fight.
He aimed his blade at Duanmu Yan’s neck, a silent declaration that he would kill him!
Immediately, Duanmu Yan clenched his fist, his veins building with anger.
“Oh, just you wait…!”
Without the call of the sect master, Duanmu Yan had lunged at Nangong Xuanhe!
“Gah!” Nangong Xuanhe hadn’t expected him to suddenly charge at him with such speed!
He immediately used his sword and blocked the attack with all his strength!
“What the hell are you doing!?
The master didn’t call the fight to start!”
Kick!
Duanmu Yan kicked Nangong Xuanhe with full force towards the edge of the arena.
“But no one is stopping me.” Duanmu Yan said.
He slowly approached with his sword, chuckling under his breath.
Nangong Xuanhe quickly got back on his feet, looking at the sect master, who seemed indifferent to the situation.
It was clear there was some sort of favoritism.
‘Of course.
Why am I not surprised?
‘It’s always been like this!’
Ever since Nangong Xuanhe had first peeked into the world of cultivation, he understood many brutal truths.
Talent was everything.
After the examination, he was forced to see many children get kicked out of their homes when they didn’t display talent.
It was cruel, he thought.
To raise a child to become a cultivator, to feed them the knowledge of the world of immortal society, to fill them with ideas of reaching the heavens.
Yet to throw them away like trash when they couldn’t match the expectations you set.
To turn them into beggars and reproduce again as if they were replaceable life.
It was by sheer luck that he was treated the same way.
But it pissed him off!
How could people treat others like that?
It just didn’t make sense!
Those were Nangong Xuanhe’s thoughts, thoughts that constantly plagued his mind, playing like a broken record.
But now, he stood before a bully who had wanted to suppress him despite both of them possessing C-grade talent.
Nangong Xuanhe made a firm declaration in his head, ‘If this is how the world is going to be…’ He lunged at Duanmu Yan, clashing blades with him!
‘…Then I will change this system!
With this heaven-defying ring, even if I’m not the chosen one, I will turn the ideology of this world upside down!’
For the first time, Nangong Xuanhe, someone who chose to remain grounded while striving to defeat his brother, decided to harbor his own goal!
Some may call him crazy; others may call it madness.
But he didn’t care.
This new goal gave him strength; the strength to overcome Duanmu Yan!
“Since you want to suppress me, I suppress you first!”
His voice reverberated through the area, prompting Gu Xuanming to open his eyes and look for the source.
‘Why is my brother yelling?
Fighting doesn’t require it.’
Looking at the stage, he saw his brother pushing Duanmu Yan back.
However, Gu Xuanming sighed, not impressed by their martial arts for the most part.
‘It seems my brother got faster over the month.
He also seems to be using a lot of basic techniques.’ He paused for a moment.
Too many, I would say.’
He watched carefully as Nangong Xuanhe effortlessly combined the techniques he had learned over the days, creating a near-flawless sequence of attacks that left Duanmu Yan unable to punish.
‘The sequence of attacks is near flawless too.
But how?’
‘This kind of progress shouldn’t exist for him, unless there was a mistake in his assessment.
But that doesn’t make sense; his strings were holding him back, and nothing separated his walk from the walk of others.’
‘…perhaps, is this another trick from the heavens?’
Gu Xuanming clenched his fist in anger, the veins bulging from his head.
‘Calm yourself, even if it is, I will not let them toy with me.’
Duanmu Yan and Nangong Xuanhe were now locked in combat!
Slash!
Clash!
Clash!
The sparks of the clash between their blades were more than enough to get everyone invested in their duel.
Duanmu Yan had finally adapted to Nangong Xuanhe’s pace, managing to effectively parry the swings.
Clash!
Nangong Xuanhe didn’t like this, gritting his teeth as he used another technique.
But unlike the other ones, which could easily be learned from the jade slips, he was now using one he had developed himself with the power of his ring!
Spark!
His blade came from above, bringing Duanmu Yan’s blade down.
He then kicked Duanmu Yan back, making him stumble as his grip on the handle was lost.
“Guh!
Damn you!” Duanmu Yan shouted.
He ran towards Nangong Xuanhe, attempting to tackle him to the floor, but that was when he executed it.
Sling!
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
Four swings, then silence.
The wind blew heavily after the execution of strikes, lifting his hair.
Silence.
Drip.
Blood leaked onto the floor.
Nangong Xuanhe had cut him four times.
2 times in the chest, creating a bloody X, and two times on the face.
Nangong Xuanhe slowly looked behind him, expecting Duanmu Yan to fall to his knees.
Slash!
“What!?”
Duanmu Yan stood still, strong!
His eyes were bloody red, and his face and chest were stained in his own blood!
He panted like a ravenous animal, saliva dripping from his mouth, and his pupils were lost within his eyes.
The grip he had on his sword was nothing short of intimidating.
Duanmu Yan was on the verge of destroying it, but he wasn’t.
“Raaaaaaaaah!”
I will start posting Daily starting from Monday