Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. The blue sky was dyed from the heat of the sun’s rays and was covered in a faint purple hue.
A large Battle Platform arena was located on the west side of the city.
The Battle Platform arena was for the Rong clan disciples to spar one another. If the disciples had a feud to settle, they could also officially challenge each other to a fight and settle matters once and for all there.
Of course, this Battle Platform wasn’t just for anyone to use whenever they liked.
Even Rong Kaixin only got the approval to use one of the Battle Platforms available by making a request one day in advance.
It was noon. By the time Rong Kaixuan arrived with his grandfather and the other seniors of the household, Rong Yitie and Rong Kaixin had already been waiting there for some time.
He was surprised that Rong Kaijie wasn’t around.
When Rong Yitie saw that Rong Jielin also was there, his expression changed slightly. He hollowly laughed and said, “Oh, I’m surprised that a feud between the younger generation would have caught the attention of Uncle Lin. I’m so sorry about that.”
Rong Jielin looked at him coldly and said, “Kaixuan is my grandson, so there’s no way I’m going to stand and watch him be bullied by other people.” He briefly paused before adding, “I heard that you have a lot of opinions about my silly third son and Kaixuan, so are you hoping for me to apologize to you directly?”
Rong Yitie inwardly cursed the old man for using his seniority against him, but he managed to squeeze a smile out on his face. “Uncle Lin, you must be joking. I didn’t know that Yiyang was from your family back then. If I knew, I wouldn’t have had a run-in with them.”
“Tsk.” Rong Jielin scoffed. “Forget it. Since your son has challenged Kaixuan to a fight, we’ll settle this matter once and for all on the Battle Platform.” His voice sounded warmer as he said, “I hope that after the battle today, our families can bury the hatchet and stop fighting one another.”
That was the rule set by the ancestors of the Rong clan.
After all, the Rong clan was huge with many disciples but only so many resources. Thus, disagreements and clashes were inevitable.
Rong clan ancestors had set the rule that if there was a feud between two parties, they could settle it on the Battle Platform. After that fight, the feud between the two had to be considered settled.
It was precisely because the rule existed that the clan had continued without any major conflict for so many years, even though there were many internal fights within the Rong clan.
Rong Yitie nodded several times and replied, “Uncle Lin, you’re right. We’re all descendants of the Rong family, and as they say, blood is thicker than water.” He turned and pretended to believe that as he said to his son, “Xin’er, after today’s fight, regardless of who wins and who loses, that’s the end of this matter. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, Father,” Rong Kaixin responded as he looked down. That was what he said, but there was an intention to kill in his lowered eyes.
Dong!
A crisp sound rang out from the Battle Platform as a middle-aged man expressionlessly said, “Gentlemen, it is time. You may use the Battle Platform now.”
He was the Martial Artist in charge of overseeing and watching over the Battle Platforms. Even though he was much lower in level compared to Rong Jielin, he was the referee for the day.
Rong Jielin slightly nodded. He glanced at Rong Kaixuan and whispered, “Be careful.”
“Grandpa, don’t worry.”
Rong Kaixuan spun around and skipped a few steps before leaping onto the Battle Platform.
Rong Yitie and his son were a little shocked by that. For some reason, they felt that this young fellow seemed a little more agile than he was a month ago.
But they couldn’t go back on their word now.
Rong Kaixin gave a low shout and exerted great force with his legs. His entire body flew onto the Battle Platform. It was as if he was a mythical bird that had spread its wings.
The middle-aged man standing on the platform looked at the two of them and said, “For today’s fight on the Battle Platform, I will be the one in charge of deciding who wins and who loses. The two of you can go ahead and fight it out. Once one party admits defeat, the other party must immediately stop attacking.” He paused and looked at them for a moment before saying, “If either of you breaks that rule, do not blame me for meting out severe punishment.”
Rong Kaixuan and Rong Kaixin both agreed to the rules, but nobody knew how they really felt inside.
The middle-aged man walked off the Battle Platform and hit the bronze bell in the corner. The bell rang with a pleasant sound.
“The fight starts now.”
Rong Kaixin’s eyes lit up. Without saying anything, he dashed toward Rong Kaixuan like a flash of lightning.
He was a Middle Stage Martial Artist while his opponent was a Spiritualist, so he had to get closer before his opponent launched an attack.
Rong Kaixuan faintly smiled and leisurely lifted one finger. There was a tiny spark glowing on his fingertip.
Rong Kaixin’s expression immediately changed when he saw the little spark. He gave a strange yelp and started moving backward. He moved backward even faster than when he was dashing forward earlier.
The refereeing middle-aged man was surprised. He looked at Rong Kaixuan’s fingertip in confusion and wondered if this was some new technique that he had somehow failed to know about.
Rong Kaixuan laughed heartily and said, “Brother Kaixin, I haven’t even formed a Spirit Power Bounce yet. Surely it doesn’t warrant such a big reaction, right?”
The last time they fought, Rong Kaixuan had released a Spirit Power Bounce and knocked Rong Kaixin unconscious because Rong Kaixin wasn’t prepared for it. This was deeply etched into Rong Kaixin’s memory. He had become extremely fearful of Spirit Power Bounces. When he saw that Rong Kaixuan looked like he was going to release one, he immediately started to retreat, even though he hadn’t been attacked yet.
After hearing what Rong Kaixuan said, he realized that Rong Kaixuan had pulled a fast one on him.
There was a murderous look on his face as Rong Kaixin clenched his teeth and made another dash for it. Before he reached Rong Kaixuan, he threw a powerful punch out. The wind caused by the punch was cold. He had unleashed all the True Qi a Middle Stage Martial Artist should have.
Rong Kaixuan had mocked him, but he was still on high alert.
His finger moved again. The spark on his fingertip glowed even more brightly as it became a ball of light the size of a basketball.
“Go.”
The ball of light sparkled as it flew toward Rong Kaixin.
Spiritualists were powerful because they were able to make use of the energy that surrounded them.
Rong Kaixuan’s Spirit Power wasn’t sufficient to create such a large ball of light, but the amount of Spirit Power of Heaven and Earth it attracted was not to be looked down upon.
Rong Kaixin was clearly not dodging this one. His fists suddenly started glowing. A shadow formed around his fist. The shadow left his fist and crashed head-on with the ball of light.
Pak!
There was a crisp noise as both the shadow and ball of light disappeared at the same time.
Rong Kaixuan was surprised. What was this power that Rong Kaixin had? Did a Middle Stage Martial Artist already have that much True Qi?
Rong Jielin watched from below the platform. His expression darkened slightly. “Yitie, your family is really doing well. You actually allowed a Middle Stage Martial Artist to use a Spirit Weapon. Tsk, don’t you think you’re overdoing things?”
Rong Yitie had a sinister smile and replied, “Uncle Lin, you’re mistaken. Kaijie gave that to his younger brother to defend himself. If he ever gets bullied, he won’t embarrass his elder brother.”
Rong Jielin scoffed and said, “Using a Spirit Weapon to gain victory will help you win, but it won’t be a glorious win.”
Rong Yitie shrugged it off and said, “Even if he doesn’t win gloriously, it’s better than losing.”
Rong Jielin and his sons had cold smiles on their faces.
It was little wonder that Rong Kaixin had the guts to challenge Rong Kaixuan. He actually had a Spirit Weapon on hand. Since Kaixuan could evoke Spirit Body Fighters, he still might not lose.
“Ha-ha!” Rong Kaixin laughed loudly. His eyes shone brightly as he angrily shouted, “Punk, your Spirit Power Bounce isn’t worth much after all! See how you’ve lost!”
He glared fiercely at his opponent and sent another punch out. A shadow formed around his fist and flew out like a flash of lightning.
Rong Kaixuan frowned slightly. He was overcome by an extremely strange feeling.
At that moment, his body reacted purely by instinct.
He shifted such that his feet moved slightly to the left as he also turned his body very slightly. This extremely simple movement helped him dodge the shadow that had flown toward him.
The heart of a Martial Artist was a powerful ability that was one with the Martial Artist’s instinct.
This was the first time Rong Kaixuan had used that particular ability, but it had an amazing effect when he was faced with an opponent.
“Oh?”
The middle-aged man overseeing the battle was caught by surprise. His body stiffened. His eyes were more alert.
He dared not be too sure that what he saw was the special ability that all Martial Artists wished they possessed.
“Humph, I’ll see how many more times you can dodge me.” Rong Kaixin scoffed threateningly as he kept throwing punch after punch in quick succession. Shadow after shadow was released from his fists. It was enough to instantly cover Rong Kaixuan.
While Rong Kaixuan used both arms to cover his chest, his body kept moving about as his legs helped to shift his balance from side to side.
He looked like he was walking on a very narrow tightrope. The way he was swaying from side to side made everyone watching afraid that he might fall off the tightrope and break all his bones.
After a few moments, there was a strange look in everyone’s eyes.
Rong Kaixuan was at a disadvantage, but he had managed to walk out from the onslaught of shadows unscathed. Instead, it was Rong Kaixin who was panting heavily because he had used all his might to unleash the power of the Spirit Weapon and too much of his True Qi.
Rong Kaixuan steadied himself. They looked at each other for a moment before Rong Kaixuan asked a little excitedly, “Can you still hold up? Come at me again.”
There was an uproar among the onlookers. What did this young fellow treat this face-off on the Battle Platform as?
Rong Kaixin’s expression was angry, but there was an uneasy feeling in his heart for some reason.
He clenched his teeth hard and snarled back, “Rong Kaixuan, you’re just dodging all my attacks. Does that mean you don’t dare to clash with me head-on?”
Rong Kaixuan blinked a few times and replied, “I don’t mind. Pass me those boxing gloves of yours and we’ll fight it out fair and square.”
He had no idea what on earth Spirit Weapons were, but the heart of a Martial Artist in him helped him notice that there was a mysterious glove over his opponent’s fists.
In all honesty, he was pretty curious about what that thing was and rather envious. If the other party was willing to remove them and give them to him, he would take them without hesitation.
“Ha-ha-ha…”
Rong Jielin and the rest burst out laughing. Even the middle-aged man overseeing the match couldn’t help but crack a smile.
Wang Xiaoxiao was standing far off in the shade. She too broke into a faint smile. This junior of hers was interesting.
Rong Kaixin’s expression darkened. He angrily shouted, “Since you have a death wish, I’ll grant you this wish!” He reached into his shirt. When he pulled his hand out again, he was holding a thin sheet of paper. It was a talisman.