Slash!
A blade flashed through the wind.
The strikes of metal rang across the arena as the wind lifted, and the two stood against each other!
With a fierce swing, Duanmu Yan had nearly cut down the guards who stood idly by with a scythe of wind!
Nangong Xuanhe breathed a sigh of relief when he managed to dodge, but Duanmu Yan was relentless.
He was furious at the prospect of being injured by someone like Nangong Xuanhe, a loser, the mere shadow of his brother.
He couldn’t accept it!
He fed Qiang Qi into his sword as well as into his right arm, augmenting those muscles to be much stronger than before.
His muscle tendons began to stretch, causing contortions, making disgusting wiggling and squishy sounds under his skin.
His arm then began to pulse, growing rapidly, the muscles on his arms getting refined as fast as the process started!
His arm grew to an absurd size, using the technique known as [Bear Claw], a technique that required you to enhance your muscles, but the extent to which Duanmu Yan used it exceeded the necessary augmentation.
Coupled with the intense strain on Duanmu Yan’s body and the amount of Qiang Qi he had already drained from his primeval galaxy, he was accelerating the process of death!
The blood flow increased, forcing more blood out of the large gashes on his chest and face.
“Cough!
Cough!” Duanmu Yan began coughing violently, struggling to stay on his own two feet!
Nangong Xuanhe, on the other hand, was calm.
His focus was cold like his brother’s, and his stance was professional.
He looked straight, but not at Duanmu Yan, but rather, something else.
‘I’m almost at level 50 of the first star to form a constellation.
Once I reach the advanced level, I will be able to reach my second constellation.’
‘But this idiot is basically killing himself just to beat me,’ he said in his head.
He thought for a moment, then concluded.
‘Even though I want to change the world, I have no problem letting you die; after all, people like you only feed the cycle.
My brother too; that is why I will first surpass him, then suppress him!’
Nangong Xuanhe pointed the tip of his blade at Duanmu Yan, who looked even more monstrous than ever before.
The elders looked at the young man with pity.
They admired determination, but this was just sad.
Mutilating himself for a cheap victory is one of the main teachings a cultivator should never do.
To have some decency, some pride.
To rise through your stars isn’t only to refine your power and your soul, but also your beauty; to look like a hideous mass of flesh was the biggest disrespect of what it meant to be a cultivator in the first place.
Duanmu Yan began to tear up.
The pain was unbearable, but he wanted to win!
He lunged at Nangong Xuanhe with menace, swinging down his sword with the weight of a mountain!
This single strike cut through the arena, destroying it entirely and leaving nothing but white dust, but the aftermath was enough to end the fight.
Duanmu Yan’s arm had been destroyed from the release; the amount of accumulated power exploding out of the weapon and his arm, blowing it to meat chunks that spattered the grass and dust surrounding the two.
“W-what?”
Duanmu Yan was left in a daze, unsure of how to feel at this moment.
He felt relieved, like he had finally let go of all that emotion, but at the same time, he had just lost his arm, and he looked even more hideous than before.
In that moment, the dust still floating in the air burst open as Nangong Xuanhe dashed through!
He managed to survive the attack by using a parry technique known as [Water Flower, Life Cycle].
To suppress someone for feeling superior, that was not justified, but still, he knew the reason such a thought process even occurred was that the world itself fueled this way of thinking.
Only those suppressed could see this fact.
Nangong Xuanhe fed Qiang Qi into his weapon, the cold air entering his lungs as he utilized his own martial technique; “Xuanhe Series: Flowing Wind of Ten Flowers!”
The next second, he disappeared, the space in which he dashed through cutting open like a sea, the wind blowing everything away as he made a single strike of his sword, cutting Duanmu Yan’s neck, decapitating him.
After the attack, he looked back at Duanmu Yan’s body, feeling blue.
He then turned to the sect master, who didn’t bother looking at Duanmu Yan’s body as he raised his hand.
“Nangong Xuanhe is the winner!”
Nangong Xuanhe walked away from the destroyed battlefield, glancing briefly at Gu Xuanming, who closed his eyes again.
Since the arena was destroyed, the tournament would be put to halt until a new one was made, which would be tomorrow, unfortunately.
This left the current disciples to do whatever they wanted until it was repaired.
Gu Xuanming walked off with Feng Qingwu, his expression as indifferent as always.
The skill his brother displayed, he knew it was unnatural.
He was now certain that something was special about his brother.
‘But that doesn’t really matter to me.’
‘I don’t need to know whether or not he’s special or not.
As long as he doesn’t stand in my way, he can do what he wants.’
‘More importantly, now that I possess martial skill, I will finally be able to leave for the forest and find the Liquor Poison Monk’s inheritance.
I should also be able to meet with some of the beastmen, and maybe I could use them to help me.’
The beastmen were very famous in the central continent, not like the ones who follow the beast path, but rather, people who choose not to live in Gue Ming village, instead living in the woods, surviving off of spirit beasts.
How did people know about this?
Well, the heavenly court.
This often gave those people stiff skin and flexible bodies, allowing them to survive more easily compared to others.
He’d also heard of many unique spirit beasts within the forest that could potentially be useful for his cultivation, so that’s another reason why he wanted to find one.
Gu Xuanming reached his dorm, taking a seat by himself while Feng Qingwu sat by the door.
As she did, she thought about the current situation.
So far, she had remained silent and obedient.
All he’s been doing is following him and standing by the door as well as learning from Lin Suwen about the temperature of the water when he needed cleaning, the kinds of foods he likes, when you should be silent and obedient, when you are allowed to speak up, and the small things to satisfy Gu Xuanming, basically.
“How can I prove myself more useful?
He managed to pay off the debt of my father, so I need to repay the debt, but how?
I don’t even know what he wants.”
Feng Qingwu glanced at the door, pondering the idea of knocking on it, but then a memory crossed her mind.
She recalled when her father prevented her from knocking on the door of a cultivator to deliver food.
Her father has told her to never interfere with a cultivator’s cultivation.
It was often very dangerous, not only for the cultivator but also for the person who interfered.
Interruptions could severely harm the cultivator, and because of that, the person who interrupted them was killed.
After recalling that, she moved her hand away from the door, sighing.
“Well, I just need to hope that he tells me something.”
… Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
In his room, Gu Xuanming opened one eye, hearing Feng Qingwu’s words.
“Hmmm, she’s right.
I could use her.
But…would that be my will, or the will of the heavens?” Gu Xuanming blinked, the strings of fate once again visible to him.
The mixed hatred and sadness he felt once again resurfaced, only fueling his desire for freedom.
After blinking again, the strings disappeared.
“…I will use her.
I will have her exact information from the Dao Beauty Sect to tell me more about the Zhao clan.”
“There’s also 3 days from now, I will meet up with Zhao Cheng’an.
I’m certain he will try to assassinate me then, too.”
“I certainly have a lot on my plate, but no matter what, I will be able to handle it all.”
Knock.
Knock.
“Hmm?”
A knock came from his door.
Standing up, he opened the door to see that it was his brother.
“Brother Xuanming, based on how things were set up, no doubt you will face Zhao Cangsheng.
Make sure you win!”
Silence.
The wind blew upon him, saying that, but Gu Xuanming was silent.
His gaze was icy as usual, and when staring directly at his brother, Nangong Xuanhe still couldn’t muster the courage to look his brother in the eye, shifting his gaze away once it became too much.
“…uh huh.” Gu Xuanming sailed coldly.
“Is that all you have to say?”
“…”
Nangong Xuanhe fell silent.
He wanted to say more, but what could he say?
He knew his brother would discard his words.
‘…gosh, why did I even bother?’
“Are you sure you want to face me?”
Nangong Xuanhe froze.
He looked up at his brother to see eyes filled with that same abyss he had become all too familiar with; the eyes of someone who was in a completely different league.
The eyes of someone who casts his shadow above anyone else.
He felt the pressure of his own brother when looking into those eyes, like his brother had become a large, looming shadow that turned him into nothing more than a mere figure in the darkness.
Nangong Xuanhe flinched, stepping back before leaving.
After he was gone, Gu Xuanming glanced at Feng Qingwu.
“Feng Qingwu…”
Hearing her name be called, she immediately stood up straight, bowing her head in respect.
“Yes, Young Master Xuanming?”