Chapter 92 – A Lack of Self-Awareness

  Zhao Wuxian was red-faced with anger and embarrassment. He was nearly incoherent as he began to fume and rage at Jun De, while utterly lacking in self-awareness.

  “You think you are better than me just because Elder Mu Yanyu favours you?! You cower behind the Sect’s protection, using your status to act like a coward! You hide in arrays and behind formations while true men fight in the open!” Zhao Wuxian barked, his voice booming across the courtyard.

  Several Disciples in the crowd shot glances at each other. Some of the points Zhao Wuxian was accusing Jun De of could also apply to himself.

  Zhao Wuxian pounded a fist against his oiled chest for emphasis, his muscles gleaming in the light of the winter sun, and he struck another pose. He stuck his arm up and flexed his bicep to highlight the bulging muscle.

  “I cultivated with my own blood and effort! I don’t need the Elders to guide my hand; I am the peerless talent of the Outer Sect, Zhao Wuxian! You will remember my name, you bastard, when I beat it into your brain with my fist!”

  The crowd remained silent, and their eyes flickered between the two. Some looked embarrassed on Zhao Wuxian’s behalf, while others simply stared as they wondered if he truly believed his own words.

  Still puffing himself up with every syllable, Zhao Wuxian suddenly leapt forward again. Wind and Qi surged violently around him as he threw another punch at Jun De. This one was stronger than the previous, and Zhao Wuxian closed the distance between them before striking.

  “TAKE THIS, COWARD!”

  Jun De didn’t respond as the air around him shimmered with condensed Qi. In a blur, he moved using the Luminous Step. His form vanished in an instant, reappearing to meet Zhao Wuxian’s charge head-on.

  His blue Outer Sect robe billowed around him in the wind as golden threads of his spiritual energy coiled around Jun De’s right arm. To those observing closely, faint tinges of purple could be seen around the edges of his Qi.

  “Falling Star Palm.”

  Jun De’s hand glowed with a deep, concentrated light that was refined and powerful. He struck out with deadly precision and composed force to match his opponent’s attack.

  Zhao Wuxian’s fist and Jun De’s palm collided in midair.

  A shockwave burst out from the clash, blowing loose dust and dead leaves from the courtyard tiles in a wide ring. The sound cracked like thunder, and the gathered Outer Sect Disciples staggered back from the impact, shielding their faces from the burst of Qi and sudden wind.

  Jun De slid backwards two steps, his feet dragging faint trails across the stone as the impact sent him reeling.

  Zhao Wuxian, on the other hand, was blown back nearly two full meters. He stumbled, and the heel of his foot skidded as he tried to hold his ground. He finally managed to catch himself and regain his balance as he stared at Jun De in disbelief.

  Pain shot up his arm. It wasn’t debilitating, but it was something that hadn’t happened to him since he had begun cultivating. He stared at his fist like it had betrayed him as it throbbed painfully, the bones in his knuckles ached, and bruises were already beginning to form.

  The power behind Jun De’s palm strike had cut through his gathered Qi like a sword through silk. It left him stunned, not just from the force of the blow but from the ease with which Jun De executed it.

  Zhao Wuxian had thrown himself forward like a firestorm, hurling his fist with all of his physical strength behind it, and Jun De had responded with a palm that had won the clash!

  His mouth moved to speak, to hype himself up or belittle Jun De, but no sound came out. His bravado faltered, and his aura seemed to dim slightly for a moment.

  Jun De stood calmly across from him, his palm lowered and the light around it fading. His blue robes settled, fluttering slightly in the cold wind.

  Zhao Wuxian had just lost the opening blow, and the entire Outer Sect was watching. His arm trembled from the pain of their clash, but it wasn’t his arm that consumed his thoughts; it was the humiliation.

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  “JUN DE!” He roared, and his voice cracked the air like a whip. His eyes burned with fury, and the veins across his arms and neck bulged. His body trembled from the overwhelming tide of rage that surged through his meridians.

  Abruptly, the spiritual energy around him twisted and pulsed erratically, thickening until it was visible to the naked eye.

  Zhao Wuxian bit into his thumb, drawing blood, and with a snarl, he smeared the bright red liquid across the center of his chest.

  “Blood of the Iron-Backed Flame Ape, awaken!”

  A blast of Qi surged outward, sending a number of nearby Outer Sect Disciples staggering back. Zhao Wuxian’s body began to change as his bones cracked and his muscles rippled. Thick cords of new muscle bulged beneath his skin, and his back hunched lightly. His hair lengthened into a wild mane, and a faint shimmer of crimson fur lined the edges of his arms and spine.

  The whites of his eyes turned a burning yellow, and his pupils thinned to vertical slits.

  “JUN DE! I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL CRUSH YOU INTO DUST!” Zhao Wuxian screamed, and he was practically frothing at the mouth in rage. His voice sounded much deeper and had a harsh tone.

  Zhao Wuxian’s aura erupted like wildfire. Flames of reddish-orange Qi licked around his limbs, and the temperature of the courtyard rose by several degrees. Even the Outer Sect Elders who had gathered to watch began to shift uneasily.

  On a nearby rooftop, Elder Hua narrowed her eyes.

  “The Zhao Clan’s bloodline. For all of his bluster and bravado, Zhao Wuxian is truly talented to be able to release his potential without completely losing control.”

  Zhao Wuxian, now a towering figure of muscle and fury, raised both of his hands overhead. Energy condensed into his palms, churning violently.

  “I’LL SHOW YOU MY STRONGEST TECHNIQUE! YOU BETTER RUN, COWARD JUN DE. IF YOU DON’T, YOU WON’T SURVIVE!”

  The Qi he summoned grew denser, wilder and more unfocused. The ground beneath his feet cracked, forming a spiderweb of lines that stretched across the courtyard. Some of the younger Disciples began to panic, while others backed away entirely to watch from a distance.

  Lin Yue shielded her eyes from the oppressive heat radiating from Zhao Wuxian, and Shen Ruolan’s hands curled into fists as the pair watched Jun De with worry. The young woman nearly stepped forward to stand by Jun De’s side when she felt Lin Yue grab her sleeve and shake her head.

  “Leave this to Senior Brother Jun.”

  Shen Ruolan reluctantly nodded.

  “Should we intervene?” Elder Hua asked coldly, and the other Elders were about to act to put an end to the duel when a voice echoed from high above them.

  “Let them finish.”

  It was a voice that rippled down from near the peak of Tranquil Mountain. The voice carried a weight that none of the Elders dared to defy, and they knew that it belonged to the Sect Master who had left an avatar in the Sect to oversee it while his true body scoured the region in search of the demonic cultivators.

  The agitated Elders settled back down, assured that the Sect Master wouldn’t allow either of these talented Disciples to truly come to harm.

  Jun De’s robes fluttered in the wind generated by Zhao Wuxian’s gathering Qi. His gaze was steady and his expression was calm as Zhao Wuxian’s madness spiralled higher.

  Then, with a quiet sigh, Jun De summoned his sword from his storage bag. The Cloudvein Jade Edge was a beautiful weapon that suited Jun De perfectly. It was slender and elegant, with pale blue and white veins that traced their way down the silver blade. The sword hummed as it settled into Jun De’s grasp.

  Gasps of surprise rippled through the crowd.

  “Senior Brother Jun uses a sword?” Someone whispered in surprise.

  “No one ever said he was a swordsman! I thought his techniques were all related to palm strikes and movement techniques!”

  Even Lin Yue’s eyes widened in disbelief. She had fought alongside Jun De and had known him since he had arrived in the Sect. She had never seen Jun De use a sword before.

  Shen Ruolan had a faint smirk on her lips as she watched her future husband. She had been with him on the flying ship and had witnessed his training firsthand. Although the sword art had come from Elder Mu, whom she still despised, she associated it with Jun De instead.

  Jun De took a single step forward and lifted the Cloudvein Jade Edge as he settled into a stance. His feet shifted slightly, and his balance was perfect after his practice inside the Array. His sword was held horizontally, the top pointing toward Zhao Wuxian.

  The air around him seemed to settle, and still, the crackling madness generated by Zhao Wuxian’s aura was muted and distant.

  “Heaven-Piercing Starfall Sword Art.” Jun De murmured.

  A hush swept over the gathered crowd as Jun De exhaled slowly, his breath misting slightly in the chilly air. A thread of gold and purple Qi coiled around the blade, mixing with the silver energy generated by the weapon in his hands.

  Zhao Wuxian finally finished gathering his energy, and the sheer pressure of his aura shattered the stone tiles around him. From behind him, the faint manifestation of the Iron-Backed Flame Ape appeared, demonstrating his growing mastery of his bloodline.

  He drew back his fist and struck forward while he let out a primal roar that shook the air around them.

  “TYRANT’S OBLITERATING STRIKE!”

  Zhao Wuxian’s fist, wrapped in Qi, expanded as he punched forward. It left a trail of devastation in its wake, and a furrow far larger than the one before tore through the stone tiles like parchment being ripped apart. The air ignited where the fist passed, burning red and orange with spiritual energy.

  All of it screamed toward Jun De, who was still standing calmly with his stance unshaken.

  “First Form: Whispering Starlight.”

  In that instant, the feeling within the courtyard seemed to shift. The rage of Zhao Wuxian’s power, the fire and the madness suddenly felt distant. All eyes turned to stare at Jun De, who moved with deliberate grace as he thrust forward with his sword.

  He didn’t glow or blaze with power. Instead, he shone quietly like the first star in the twilight sky.