Chapter 50 – Ren Sihan

  With a casual flick of his sleeve and a shift of his foot, Ren Qiu leapt into the air while his red robes fluttered around him like banners in the breeze. There was a gust of wind that followed in his wake as he landed squarely on the floating platform.

  In the moment his feet touched stone, the air around him ignited with his Qi. He was surrounded by faint, reddish flames that coiled around him like elegant threads and demonstrated his mastery of the basic flame techniques of his Clan.

  It was rumoured that when the Patriarch fought, his Qi would engulf the surrounding area and resemble an out-of-control wildfire.

  Ren Qiu held his folding fan in his right hand, and it radiated the power of the Low-Grade Spiritual Artifact suitable for his cultivation. The fan had the symbol of the Ren Clan on the front and was painted red to match his robes.

  “Sihan, you shouldn’t have challenged me.” Ren Qiu said, while his face held an expression somewhere between exasperation, amusement and condescension. He clearly didn’t expect much from his brother and didn’t enjoy being called out in front of a crowd.

  His gaze sharpened, and his lips curled upwards into a haughty smirk that Jun De recognized from when they first met.

  “But, as we share the same blood, and in honour of our brotherhood, I shall be generous today. Kneel, apologize for creating this disturbance, and I’ll let this go without raising a hand.”

  A low murmur swept through the crowd as even the dullest amongst them could see that this was generally out of character for one such as Ren Qiu, who could command respect from the entire Clan. The fact that he would be so forgiving could be attributed to his friendship with Jun De, who had softened his arrogance somewhat.

  Everyone waited to see what the younger son of Ren Junhai would do now that the favoured Heir had descended to the stage.

  When the protective barrier shimmered into place around the duelling platform, a subtle tension settled over the crowd. Within the platform, sound became slightly muffled, and the outside world dulled until it felt that only the two brothers existed.

  It was then that Ren Sihan’s entire demeanour shifted. The calm young man who had boldly declared his challenge was replaced by a vicious cultivator filled with killing intent. His eyes narrowed, and even Ren Qiu shivered slightly at the cold response from his brother.

  With a single, sharp movement, Ren Sihan summoned his weapon from his storage bag. It was a single-edged sabre, its iron-dark blade tinged with a faint crimson sheen. The air filled with the smell of old blood that no amount of cleansing could remove from the blade.

  The weapon wasn’t elegant or refined like Ren Qiu’s fan, but it radiated an aura of use through battle, and it was clear that it was also a Low-Grade Spiritual Artifact.

  “While you were basking in the glow of the Tranquil Mountain Sect and reaping praise from our Clan, I was out in the wilderness fighting for every scrap. I killed for every opportunity!” Ren Sihan said, his voice low and hoarse.

  His Qi began to rise, and it wasn’t the smooth, polished aura that Jun De was accustomed to seeing from other Sect Disciples. It was wild, aggressive, and violent in nature. The ground beneath Ren Sihan’s feet cracked slightly as it surged.

  Ren Qiu’s confident smirk wavered, souring as his brother’s Qi kept rising.

  The surge continued, carrying Ren Sihan past the 1st Level of Qi Condensation and into the 2nd until it finally solidified at the 3rd level of Qi Condensation. It didn’t feel like a natural breakthrough to Jun De; it was too forceful and violent.

  But unlike the Patriarch’s Qi, Ren Sihan’s didn’t have the fluctuations of forceful breakthroughs using Pills.

  Jun De straightened slightly, and his eyes locked onto Ren Sihan’s aura. To most, Ren Sihan’s cultivation seemed simple, forceful and unrefined. But Jun De could sense a slight wrongness to it. It was subtle and deeply hidden, but it was undeniable.

  ‘Could it be an unorthodox technique?’ Jun De wondered, unsure of the cause.

  He knew very little about cultivation and the many paths people used to achieve results. But he did know that there were a lot of methods that were illegal, such as the demonic arts, while there were others that were more frowned upon but still tolerated.

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  Jun De shook his head. He didn’t know if he should say something, but, after sneaking a glance at the Patriarch and Ren Junhai, he chose to remain silent.

  Neither of the men seemed inclined to interrupt the duel, and Jun De was sure that they could probably feel the same strangeness in Ren Sihan that he could. The fact that neither of them said anything meant that it was probably an unorthodox cultivation method, but not illegal.

  Ren Qiu frowned as he felt his brother’s Qi wash over him.

  “You, what have you done?” Ren Qiu said.

  “You didn’t notice, did you!?” Ren Sihan responded, his eyes fixed on Ren Qiu like a hunter staring at his prey.

  “While you lounged around in the Sect, I’ve been clawing my way upward. I may not have the Clan’s favour, but I earned this power with blood!”

  Inside the platform, Ren Sihan raised his blood-tinged sabre.

  “No more pretending we are true brothers. Let’s see how much your talent is really worth when your life is on the line.”

  The moment Ren Sihan moved, the air inside the duelling barrier exploded with violence. There was no testing exchanges between them, no cautious circling or feints. Ren Sihan lunged forward like a beast, his sabre already slashing through the air in a blur.

  His intent to kill was fully on display, and Jun De wondered why no one from the Ren Clan intervened.

  Ren Qiu flicked open his folding fan with a sharp snap and sent a wave of flame erupting outward to block the strike. The fire danced beautifully, spiralling with control, but Ren Sihan didn’t slow down at all.

  He cut straight through the flame while his sabre trailed lingering flames and Qi.

  The crowd gasped as Ren Qiu stumbled back, and his expression suddenly turned serious. No trace of his amusement at the situation or the sense of arrogant superiority. His fan swept out again, casting arcs of flames in crescent-shaped slashes that curved through the air.

  They were precise, measured and flawless in technique.

  But Ren Sihan tore through them like an enraged beast.

  Each time Ren Qiu created space between them, Ren Sihan closed it. Each step he took forward was accompanied by a strike that came too fast and too close for Ren Qiu to adequately respond to. He was always on the back foot, always reacting to Ren Sihan rather than proactively hitting back.

  Ren Sihan’s form had many rough edges, but his every movement had been tested in battle, and he didn’t hesitate to strike, nor did he shy away from his opponent’s attacks.

  Jun De frowned as the fight grew more intense. He turned his eyes to look at the Ren Clan Patriarch, but neither he nor Ren Jinhai made any movement. Their expressions appear to be set in stone, and Jun De wasn’t sure if either would react if one of the brothers died in this duel.

  ‘What kind of world is this!?’

  Ren Qiu tried to shift the momentum, to match his brother’s more aggressive stance. His fan began to glow with heat, and flames curled tighter as he launched a refined barrage of strikes.

  His talent wasn’t just related to cultivation, and Ren Qiu had earned his place as the Young Master of the Ren Clan.

  The battle between them grew more intense, with Ren Qiu’s superior strength and cultivation equalling Ren Sihan’s battle experience.

  Ren Sihan blocked an attack, letting the next arc of flame burn across his shoulder just to get close enough to strike. His sabre came down in a brutal arc, and Ren Qiu barely twisted aside in time. The edge of the blade sliced through his outer robes and drew a thin line of blood.

  “You dare draw blood!?” Ren Qiu’s face was flushed with anger, and his voice cracked as he shouted.

  “This is no game, brother. Only one of us will walk away from this platform!” Ren Sihan snarled, and his killing intent surged.

  And still, Ren Jinhai and the Patriarch watched without commenting on the battle taking place.

  The duel was reaching its crescendo, and both men moved like they were possessed. Their Qi flared in violent arcs of flame and crimson light.

  It was then that Ren Qiu faltered. It was a subtle, slight hitch in his movement, but Sihan took advantage of it. His sabre came down, slashing toward Ren Qiu. But rather than avoid it, Ren Qiu stepped into the blow.

  Gasps rang out as the sabre sank deeply into his left shoulder, and blood was spilled on the floor of the platform.

  But, in the same instant, Ren Qiu seized the moment. His fan blazed with Qi, and he struck directly at Ren Sihan’s chest. The impact sent Ren Sihan flying backward, skidding across the platform.

  Both young men were exhausted, bloody and ragged. Jun De exhaled slowly as the tension left his shoulders.

  ‘That’s it. It’s settled.’

  Unfortunately, Ren Sihan disagreed. Cursing loudly with blood dripping from his lips, he reached into his storage pouch and pulled something out. It was a small, jagged-edged object wrapped in black silk.

  Jun De couldn’t see what it was, but something about it made his skin crawl.

  Without hesitation, Ren Sihan popped the small item into his mouth.

  And his Qi Exploded.

  A violent wave of energy surged out from his Dantian, shaking the platform as his cultivation expanded chaotically until it brushed against the threshold of the 4th Level of Qi Condensation.

  The Qi Ren Sihan was emitting felt wrong to Jun De. It was twisted and corrosive. It didn’t even feel like Sihan had a breakthrough; rather, it was more that Qi had been forced into him.

  Ren Sihan surged forward, his wounds healing and his energy replenished. His killing intent soared, and Ren Qiu didn’t have the stamina to react.

  It was at that moment that the Patriarch moved. One moment he was seated, and the next he was on the platform, his hand closing tightly around Ren Sihan’s wrist. The weapon trembled as it was unable to move even an inch.

  “The match is over.”

  In a flash of light, both Ren Sihan and the Patriarch left, leaving Ren Qiu behind.

  ‘What the hell was that?!’ Jun De wondered.