Yudong City’s sword trial platform.
Shen Tanqi and Yu Ce had sparred for over a dozen rounds, their long swords clashing with a piercing, ear-splitting dragon’s roar. The cold breath of the dragon leaked from their swords, as if capable of bringing another heavy snowfall upon Yudong City.
“Shen Tanqi, your movements need to be faster. At your current speed, you’d be torn to shreds by the demons,” Yu Ce’s voice was cold and detached, akin to a strict teacher giving orders.
Initially uncomfortable with being addressed this way, Shen Tanqi realized that without it, he might soften upon hearing Yu Ce call him ‘Ah Qi.’
Gripping his sword firmly, he infused his entire body with spiritual energy, the consumption flowing effortlessly like water, allowing his physical capabilities to surpass those of ordinary men.
“Lin Tanjiu will only get stronger than me. If you fall to me, forget about claiming the top spot in the grand sect competition.” The sword struck, and Yu Ce tightened his grip on Shen Tanqi’s wrist, squeezing so hard that Shen Tanqi almost couldn’t hold onto his sword.
Trembling, he took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, kicking out. Yu Ce effortlessly floated backwards, not even brushing a piece of his clothing.
Shen Tanqi felt like his wrist was nearly crushed by Yu Ce; this guy really showed no mercy.
Since that’s the case, he had to end this battle quickly. After all, in terms of stamina, he was definitely no match for Yu Ce; this damn dragon could keep him up all night.
Just as he was about to strike again, he glanced up and saw that Yu Ce had vanished. Shen Tanqi was momentarily surprised, then heard a cold voice behind him, “Losing focus is a bad habit.”
Without needing to turn around, Shen Tanqi could feel the icy breath of sword intent right at his chest. If that sword fell, he would be completely defeated.
His pupils contracted swiftly as he turned to meet the sword, managing to deflect Yu Ce’s blade with his own.
He sensed a hint of amusement from Yu Ce in front of him, who calmly commented, “Relying solely on reflexes won’t cut it. Unless you approach each move with the mindset of imminent death, harnessing your reflexes to the fullest.”
Shen Tanqi gasped for breath; his previous actions had been purely instinctual, without any thought from his brain.
He had to admit, Yu Ce was a good teacher.
Now he understood somewhat what Yu Ce had meant. To defeat your opponent, you must have the determination to kill them.
Embracing the mindset of ‘either you die or I live’ could indeed unleash a person’s fullest potential.
However, Yu Ce clearly had no intention of giving him time to ponder further. Without hesitation, he launched another attack. Shen Tanqi retreated step by step, gritting his teeth and blocking with his sword.
The clash of weapons was relentless. Shen Tanqi deflected Yu Ce’s strikes without hesitation and countered swiftly.
The swordplay on the platform dazzled the onlookers. A stick of incense burned away, yet the intense battle between the two showed no sign of stopping.
Shen Tanwu couldn’t bear to watch any longer and whispered to Fang Wenxun, “I can’t watch anymore. I need to use the restroom.”
Fang Wenxun blinked. “Huh?”
Restroom? What’s that?
Before he could ask further, Shen Tanwu had already walked away.
Out of habit, Shen Tanwu patted himself but couldn’t find his cigarettes. Restlessly, he paced in place for a while, feeling a sensation similar to when he sent Shen Tanqi off to the college entrance examination years ago.
Yu Ce, this little brat, was really ruthless. He didn’t even spare his own wife!
Suddenly, he heard a gasp from the crowd. Shen Tanwu immediately forgot his own anxiety and turned to look at the elevated platform. There, he saw Shen Tanqi lying on the ground, his hand gripping the sword shaking uncontrollably, and his lips marred with bruises that were painful to behold.
Opposite him stood Yu Ce, holding his sword firmly, his robes fluttering, his expression unreadable.
Shen Tanwu’s mind went blank. He couldn’t think about anything else. He urgently squeezed into the crowd, shouting, “Stop! Don’t fight anymore!”
But before he could finish, his mouth was covered by Fang Wenxun standing beside him. Fang Wenxun was equally distressed, but this trial was crucial; how could they stop now?
“Hold on. This is junior brother’s trial. Do you understand the meaning of a trial?” Fang Wenxun whispered urgently.
Shen Tanwu pushed his hand away angrily, gritting his teeth as he looked at Yu Ce. He spat out, “Fuck, I know.”
But seeing his younger brother, whom he had raised from childhood, beaten and battered like this, he couldn’t bear to watch any longer.
His heart was in knots!
On the platform, Shen Tanqi struggled to pick up his sword, his legs trembling. With all his strength, he managed to climb to his feet from the ground. Above him, he heard Yu Ce sigh softly.
“That’s enough, Ah Qi.”
Yu Ce didn’t really want to determine a winner; he just wanted Shen Tanqi to taste the flavor of effort. But if they continued like this, Shen Tanqi’s body wouldn’t hold up.
Human and daemon physiques couldn’t be compared. Below the Tribulation Crossing stage, daemons had an absolute advantage. With Shen Tanqi’s current strength at the Nascent Soul stage, his ability to endure until now was already truly remarkable.
Shen Tanqi heard Yu Ce’s voice but seemed not to hear it clearly. He stood up, wiped the blood from his cracked lips, and raised his sword towards him.
Yu Ce pursed his lips and lowered his sword. “If you insist, then I concede.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Tanqi tugged at the corner of his mouth and unexpectedly let out a soft laugh. “You look down on me, don’t you?”
Yu Ce was taken aback. He shook his head. “Never.”
Shen Tanqi’s smile broadened, his eyes shimmering. He whispered, “Come on, Yu Ce. At least let’s decide a winner. That way, we can set an example for the kids, show them their daddy fought to the end, right?”
Seeing his smile, Yu Ce’s breath caught for a moment, momentarily dazzled by this resolute Shen Tanqi.
There was no discouragement, no regret, and not a trace of hesitation or cowardice.
In his eyes, Yu Ce saw clarity and an unyielding will to win.
After a long pause, Yu Ce smiled. “Alright.”
With that, his long sword cut through the air. Shen Tanqi poured every bit of spiritual energy he could muster into his sword, making it vibrate and hum with intense determination.
Yu Ce’s eyes widened slightly. For the first time in the entire match, he raised his sword, using his Nascent Soul stage sword aura to counter.
The terrifying sword intent, which seemed capable of cutting through anything, was barely deflected by the Nascent soul stage sword aura — then, like a withered leaf falling from a dry tree, it fell weakly to the ground.
Shen Tanqi took a deep breath, his gaze landing on the brilliant, dragon-breath-imbued sword tip before him. He let out a relieved laugh. “Looks like I still can’t win, huh?”
He had to admit, Yu Ce’s sword was faster than his own. In that fleeting moment, when his sword was about to reach Yu Ce’s neck, it was abruptly repelled by Yu Ce’s sharp sword energy. The impact had numbed Shen Tanqi’s grip, causing him to lose his sword and ultimately, the match.
Upon hearing this, Yu Ce nodded and picked up Shen Tanqi’s sword from the ground, murmuring softly with lingering fear, “Of course, because my cultivation is a step higher. Otherwise, Ah Qi’s sword would have chopped off my head.”
Shen Tanqi took the sword back, chuckling at his words. “Impossible, I was holding back.”
“…” Yu Ce fell silent for a moment, recalling Shen Tanqi’s hair-raising sword intent from earlier. He began to think that Ah Qi might truly be a genius, though Ah Qi himself never seemed to realize it.
Who in the Nascent Soul stage could wield such sword intent? If Yu Ce hadn’t used his full Nascent Soul stage power, he admitted he would likely have been overwhelmed by that sword intent.
The elder in charge of affairs seemed to snap out of his trance, loudly declaring, “Third round, victory to Yu Ce, the third disciple of Rongyun Sect!”
Shen Tanqi sincerely applauded, his voice clear over the platform. He suddenly noticed that the surroundings had fallen into an unusual silence, and he looked back at the crowd in confusion.
In the hushed atmosphere, countless gazes focused on him, seemingly still awed by Shen Tanqi’s indomitable sword intent just now. After a while, sporadic applause gradually broke out, followed by a thunderous applause like rolling waves.
“Well fought, Daoist Shen!”
“So exciting, this is the most thrilling trial I’ve ever seen!”
“Facing adversity without giving up, Daoist Shen is an example of our generation. It’s a pity Daoist Yu is just too strong.”
“Shen Tanqi is from our Rongyun Sect, he’s our Second Senior Brother, and Yu Ce is our Third Senior Brother. Our Rongyun Sect disciples are amazing!”
Shen Tanqi was momentarily stunned, seeing Shen Tanwu and Fang Wenshen excitedly shouting his name in the crowd. He smiled somewhat bashfully.
“Ah Qi, you fought brilliantly. Everyone is cheering for you,” Yu Ce’s voice sounded beside him.
Shen Tanqi scratched his head, feeling awkward in such a situation he hadn’t experienced before. He turned his face away slightly and said, “Took your spotlight, didn’t I?”
“I’m your husband, your spotlight is my spotlight.”
With these words, Shen Tanqi slowly raised his eyes to meet Yu Ce’s gaze, and both couldn’t help but smile.
He had lost, yet he felt an incredible lightness in himself, a feeling he had never experienced before.
If his mother were here, seeing him fight to the end, she would probably be happy for him, right?
He wasn’t the Shen Tanqi from before, who was beaten down by life and just wanted to lie low. He was now the Shen Tanqi who would fight relentlessly even knowing the road ahead was rough, the odds were slim, and the outcome uncertain.
As the dark clouds dispersed in the sky, seemingly just to cast a beam of light upon them, Yu Ce stood beside Shen Tanqi. Under the gaze of many, he gently took Shen Tanqi’s hand.
The applause from below seemed to intensify, led by the disciples of Rongyun Sect and supported by those from Qingliu Sect, with cheers and whistles echoing.
Fang Wenxun looked incredulously at the cheering fellow disciples beside him and asked, “How did you all know about Shen Tanqi and Yu Ce…?”
One of the Rongyun Sect disciples excitedly draped an arm over his shoulder, saying, “Senior Brother, you’re clueless. Anyone can see it—they have children together!”
The ‘Clueless Senior Brother,’ who had been trying to keep it secret until now: …
He turned to glance at Shen Tanwu, feeling uneasy and worried about how the Shen family might view Yu Ce and them. To his surprise, he saw Shen Tanwu discreetly wiping tears from his eyes.
Caught by Fang Wenxun, Shen Tanwu said a little awkwardly, “Got sand in my eyes, what’s wrong?”
Fang Wenxun nervously asked, “Junior Brother Yu and Junior Brother Shen…”
Shen Tanwu’s face hardened as he said, “You mean Yu Ce? When we get back, I’ll definitely give Yu Ce a good lesson. Who hits their wife like that? Right, Senior Brother?”
Fang Wenxun responded hesitantly, “Yes… Did you all know about this? Then why did he keep it a secret for so long!”
On the platform, with Yu Ce gently holding his hand and the uproarious cheers from below, Shen Tanqi suddenly felt like he couldn’t find his way. His face flushed deeply, and he instinctively wanted to pull away from Yu Ce, but Yu Ce held onto him tighter.
“Don’t hide,” Yu Ce’s voice was soft, slipping into the gaps between Shen Tanqi’s fingers, firmly intertwining their hands.
“Remember what you said? The one who lost would be at the winner’s mercy.”
“I want everyone to know that I belong to Ah Qi.”
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)
