On the stage, Yu Ce’s second match was about to start. After a brief intermission, Zhao Xiao from the Qingliu Sect stepped onto the platform, facing Yu Ce.
The two exchanged polite fist salutes. Shen Tanqi had a good impression of the Qingliu Sect disciples; they were always helpful and very friendly.
This disciple named Zhao Xiao looked sincere and kind, likely a good person as well.
Yu Ce returned the salute, raised his sword, and said, “Please.”
Without hesitation, his opponent made the first move. Sword light flashed everywhere, and the speed was so fast that the spectators below could hardly see how they exchanged blows.
Shen Tanqi watched Yu Ce intently as he raised his sword to block. Daemons had much faster reactions than humans, with agile and swift movements, and their moves were precise and ruthless.
To beat Yu Ce, one would at least have to match his speed.
But in such a short time, matching Yu Ce’s speed was nearly impossible.
Thinking rapidly, Shen Tanqi kept his eyes fixed on Yu Ce, trying to figure out a way to break his moves.
However, before he could come up with a solution, Zhao Xiao had already lost to Yu Ce. On the stage, Yu Ce slowly sheathed his sword, his gaze once again falling on Shen Tanqi.
Next, it would be their turn.
Shen Tanqi coughed dryly and looked away from Yu Ce’s burning gaze.
He always felt that Yu Ce would go easy on him, but Shen Tanqi wanted to win on his own merit.
Half a quarter of an hour later, Shen Tanqi stood on the sword trial stage, looking out at the crowd. The audience was full of the best disciples from various sects, all eyes were on him, and his body felt a bit stiff.
A soft voice came from across the stage, “Ah Qi, look at me.”
Shen Tanqi turned his eyes and met Yu Ce’s gentle, smiling gaze.
“Salute.”
He immediately snapped back to his senses and saluted Yu Ce properly. As he bowed, he heard Yu Ce chuckling softly.
“Ah Qi, it’s like we’re getting married.”
At a time like this, only Yu Ce would have the heart to joke about such things. Shen Tanqi couldn’t help but chuckle, feeling a lot more relaxed. He replied softly, “Silly dragon, who gets married on the stage?”
Yu Ce pursed his lips, drew his long sword from his waist, and infused it with a sharp energy. “Ah Qi, I’m going to be serious now,” he said quietly.
Shen Tanqi nodded, dropping his smile as he drew his own sword. They began just like they used to on the training platform, with Shen Tanqi launching the first attack and Yu Ce defending.
“Too slow,” Yu Ce said, parrying Shen Tanqi’s sword with his own, then leaned close to whisper in his ear, “Move faster, channel your energy to your feet, clear your mind.”
Shen Tanqi was momentarily stunned, not expecting Yu Ce to be teaching him at this moment. He bit his lip and said, “Focus on the match, don’t go easy on me.”
Yu Ce replied calmly, “The sect competition is meant for learning from each other. Ah Qi, your obsession with winning honorably is only making things harder for yourself.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Ce placed a hand on Shen Tanqi’s shoulder and pushed him back half a step. It hurt a bit, and Shen Tanqi couldn’t help but take a sharp breath.
Below the stage, Shen Tanwu and Fang Wenxun, who were munching on sunflower seeds, suddenly stopped, looking at Yu Ce in disbelief. This kid was really going to fight Shen Tanqi.
“Calm down, brother of my junior brother, calm down!” Fang Wenxun tried hard to restrain Shen Tanwu, who was ready to storm the stage and beat someone up. “This is a trial. It’s natural that it won’t be without any scratches.”
Shen Tanwu ground his teeth, crushing the sunflower seeds in his palm into dust. He muttered, “I’ve raised him for so long, and I never hit him.”
He understood that Yu Ce had no choice either, but seeing Shen Tanqi in pain made his heart ache too.
On the stage, Shen Tanqi was somewhat surprised that Yu Ce was actually willing to lay a hand on him. It seemed Yu Ce’s claim of being serious was no joke.
His shoulder still throbbed faintly, but Yu Ce calmly said, “We are at the same level, Ah Qi. Have you never wondered why I can break your moves while you can’t break mine?”
Shen Tanqi gradually calmed down. He looked up at Yu Ce and shook his head.
“You always tell me not to hold back, but you’ve never once thought about striking me.” Yu Ce gazed at him steadily. The soft breeze brushed against Shen Tanqi’s face, lifting a few strands of his hair. Yu Ce resisted the urge to pull him into a comforting embrace and said sternly, “It’s the same with me as it is with Lin Tanjiu. You can’t bring yourself to strike her either.”
“Ah Qi, look at me.” Yu Ce stood a short distance away, slowly raising his sword. “To defeat your opponent, you need the resolve to kill him.”
Shen Tanqi looked at him. Under the soft daylight, Yu Ce’s eyes seemed to be shrouded in an impenetrable mist. Yu Ce had always been like this in Shen Tanqi’s eyes, ready to drift away like the wind to an unknown place. Only when Yu Ce was holding Goldfish and Taro Ball did Shen Tanqi feel that Yu Ce was a living, breathing person, not Bai Long, not the main character, just Yu Ce.
He is the father of my children.
Shen Tanqi gripped his sword tighter and lowered his eyelashes, not knowing how to respond. Yu Ce was right. He didn’t know how to make up his mind to strike at Yu Ce. When facing Yu Ce and Lin Tanjiu, Shen Tanqi’s sword was always a beat slower.
With this mindset, how could he possibly win?
He had a hesitant and weak-willed personality, often indecisive, always worried about hurting others. He had repeatedly told Yu Ce not to go easy on him, but it was more like self-hypnosis.
—Don’t go easy on Yu Ce.
“From now on, don’t think of me as Yu Ce,” he said softly, “I won’t think of you as Shen Tanqi either.”
After a long pause, Shen Tanqi took a deep breath, his gaze gradually becoming resolute. He looked at Yu Ce and said, “Alright, let’s do this, Passerby A.”
Yu Ce was a bit surprised at how quickly Shen Tanqi adjusted, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He twirled his sword gracefully and said in a deep voice, “Alright, Passerby B.”
Meanwhile, in a carriage heading towards the lower town of Rongyun Sect, the wheels rolled over a stone, jolting Taro Ball awake. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself stuffed inside a yellow burlap sack, his hands and feet tightly bound. Not only that, he was lying on a hard surface, surrounded by demonic energy.
Startled, he quickly used his spiritual energy to break the ropes on his hands. Just as he was about to tear the sack open, he heard the voices of two demons outside the sack.
“Why do you think Xie Chi kidnapped a kid?” one of them said.
The air outside was thick with the unpleasant stench of alcohol, and one of the demons belched loudly.
Sending out a thread of spiritual energy, Taro Ball sensed that the two demons outside were only at the Golden Core stage. From their conversation, it seemed someone had intentionally kidnapped him.
Taro Ball didn’t rush out. He pinched his nose and listened intently to their conversation.
“Who knows? I can’t figure out why the elders would let a dragon beast become our leader,” one demon grumbled.
The references to ‘dragon beast’ and ‘leader,’ combined with the demonic energy, led Taro Ball to remember the terrifying man he had seen on the long street of Shuoxia City and the horrific scene of the shattered Chen Gui corpses in the narrow, dark alley.
That man was extremely cruel and heartless. His methods of killing Chen Gui showed he had no mercy and took pleasure in slaughter.
Was that man named Xie Chi? What could Xie Chi want with him?
“It looks like we tied up the right person. Just look—no one in the Nascent Soul stage sleeps so soundly. This must be that stupid older brother.”
Hearing this, Taro Ball’s eyes widened slightly, his teeth clenched, and anger surged through him.
So they weren’t aiming to kidnap him but his defenseless older brother!
His brother was only three years old, with no cultivation at all. How could they possibly kidnap his brother!
His father had warned him that the outside world was dangerous, with people snatching little dragons to harvest their dragon balls and blood, then selling them in the black market.
Could these hateful demons have planned to kidnap his brother and sell him?
Taro Ball couldn’t bear to think about what might have happened if that were the case. Right now, he only felt a chilling fear of narrowly escaping.
Fortunately, the villains had kidnapped him instead.
The two demons outside continued chatting: “But the mountain-protecting formation of Rongyun Sect is too tough to breach. I heard a dozen or so demon elders spent all night trying to break it with no luck.”
“Don’t worry. It’s just a matter of time. When the time comes, we’ll sweep up all the fine wine from the cities around Rongyun Sect and feast on the sect leader’s head, hahaha!”
So, they were planning to attack the Rongyun Sect?
Taro Ball pondered for a moment and decided to go along with the plan. He retracted and concealed his Nascent Soul stage cultivation level, and tightened the ropes around his wrists with his spiritual energy.
He wanted to see what Xie Chi planned to do with him. Then, just like his father and grandfather had done, he would find a way to deal with these villains once and for all!
The carriage sped along quickly. After a short while, Taro Ball felt himself being lifted by the demons, seemingly taken somewhere.
His surroundings were a blur, but through the burlap sack, he could vaguely make out that they were near a clear lake.
The area was rich in spiritual energy. Even just being there for a short time made Taro Ball feel incredibly refreshed.
Places abundant in spiritual energy typically had two causes: either there were rare treasures or excellent feng shui, or… a powerful practitioner was cultivating nearby.
But hadn’t these demons mentioned taking him to Rongyun Sect? The only powerful person there would be the sect leader.
Just as Taro Ball was trying to piece this together, the sack was opened. He quickly composed his expression, imagining his brother’s usual scared look, and played the part of a frightened child.
“Ah, you’re awake,” the demon said, undoing the sack and grabbing Taro Ball by the scruff of his neck. He announced loudly, “Master, the person is here.”
Taro Ball warily observed his surroundings. Indeed, they were by a serene blue lake, filled with spiritual energy. The sky even had a hint of purple, suggesting someone had recently made a breakthrough in their cultivation.
He kept his eyes fixed on the mirror-like lake, and heard a lazy voice from within, “Is that so… Toss him in.”
The demon holding Taro Ball nodded without hesitation and unceremoniously threw him into the lake.
Dragons are at ease in the water, so Taro Ball could maneuver more easily underwater.
But instead of immediately freeing his bound wrists, he let himself sink deeper into the lake.
Now was not the time to reveal himself.
He was waiting.
Suddenly, a pale hand with a hint of green clasped Taro Ball’s throat. It didn’t seem intent on killing him, just holding him close.
Taro Ball broke into a cold sweat in an instant—despite his heightened alertness, he hadn’t sensed the approach at all!
He spun around sharply to meet a pair of chilling eyes.
“Hello there, little nephew.”
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
