Chapter 32: Dark Deeds
Rong Xiren wasn't having an easy day. He rushed through the forest as the sun rose, but found no one in sight. The outer disciple he sought had slipped through his grasp, fleeing like the coward he was.
Determined to exact revenge, Rong Xiren planned to dispose of him discreetly, as he had done with many in the past. His grandfather, though indifferent to such matters, always covered up Rong Xiren's misdeeds. Yet, this particular outer disciple had managed to shame him unlike any other.
In truth, it hadn't been a difficult day... It had been a difficult week.
Gritting his teeth, Rong Xiren punched a nearby tree, obliterating it in one blow. Wood fragments scattered, piercing nearby trees like arrows.
If he were honest, it had been a difficult month.
Despite being the grandson of an inner elder and expected to be treated like royalty within the Blazing Sun Sect, he found himself assigned to menial tasks. To compound matters, the one he was supposed to supervise hadn't shown up, leaving Rong Xiren to track him down.
His once pristine blue robes were now stained with dirt and splatters of blood from the long night's ordeal. His regal appearance was marred, and his hair disheveled. Moreover, he felt an unfamiliar internal pain from the earlier confrontation with the cowardly disciple, adding to his humiliation. The thought of facing the healer and explaining his injuries filled him with dread; he would become a laughingstock.
Grimacing, Rong Xiren turned toward the inner sect, vowing to return with a tracking artifact to hunt down and eliminate his target. As he attempted to straighten his rumpled clothes and rid them of stains, his efforts proved futile. The water from a nearby pond only worsened the situation, causing dirt to cling to his robe and bloodstains to spread.
"Damn it, reduced to menial tasks as if I were a servant! Liu Feng! I will make him suffer for this!" Rong Xiren muttered, suppressing tears of shame.
Unaccustomed to such chores, he reluctantly approached the towering silver walls of the inner sect. Though unremarkable in appearance, formidable barriers prevented unauthorized entry or exit. Even in his current state, Rong Xiren dared not attempt to breach the inner sanctum.
As Rong Xiren approached a small gate set within the silver walls, the inner disciples stationed there greeted him with raised eyebrows and stifled laughter.
"Identify yourself," one guard demanded, while the other struggled to conceal his amusement behind a series of forced coughs.
He swore he would have his revenge on them all.
"You already know who I am," Rong Xiren replied through gritted teeth.
"Yeah, we know," the poker-faced disciple acknowledged, "But protocol is protocol. If you have any grievances, take them up with the Elder of Gates."
"I am Rong Xiren, grandson of Elder Rong, also known as the Elder of Drinks," he declared formally, recalling the youthful moniker his grandfather once embraced, now a distant memory in the face of his current stoicism.
After enduring a barrage of inquiries about his presence outside the inner sect, his lineage, martial prowess, demonstrations of said skills, and other requisite formalities, Rong Xiren was finally granted passage, his sense of humiliation deepening.
Unlike the outer sect's rustic charm, the inner sect exuded an ethereal beauty, its sparse buildings reminiscent of scenes from a painting. To those attuned to Qi, it revealed a hidden world; to others, it remained a simple forest.
Thoughts of Qi spurred Rong Xiren's steps forward. Despite Liu Feng's status as outer sect trash, his Qi sensitivity indicated he was close to the Qi Gathering realm. Any day now, he could make the breakthrough.
Judging from Liu Feng's raw strength, Rong Xiren estimated him to be at the weaker end of the nine-star Body Tempering realm. Were it not for Liu Feng's Qi sensitivity to Qi, Rong Xiren might have placed him at eight-star. Nevertheless, the leap from nine-star Body Tempering to Qi Gathering was challenging. Rong Xiren intended to eliminate him before Liu Feng could do that.
Rong Xiren abhorred leaving matters to chance; typically, a Body Tempering cultivator stood little chance against a Qi Gathering cultivator. The ability to sense impending attacks was a game-changer. Despite defeating Liu Feng in their previous encounter, the coward fled as soon as Rong Xiren unleashed his full power.
Rong Xiren mulled over the discomfort in his stomach.
What was this unsettling sensation?
Before he could dwell on it further, a swift movement caught his attentiona young man with sleek, dark hair and a stern face appeared, standing on a tree. His demeanor mirrored that of stern elders focused solely on duty. Though this guy was just an inner disciple.
Leaping down, the young man landed before Rong Xiren. However, Rong Xiren brushed past him, disregarding the customary greeting. He was weary of others' disrespect; being the son of an inner elder entitled him to this. He was royalty amongst these losers.
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But his stride was interrupted by another dark-haired man emerging from behind a tree. This one sported spiky hair and a warm demeanor. "Hey there!" he waved "Surprised to see you around these parts."
Rong Xiren frowned. "Do I know you?"
He restrained the urge to curse. Unlike outer disciples, inner disciples typically had affiliations with elders. Moreover, these two seemed acquainted. As a mere one-star Qi Gathering cultivator, Rong Xiren avoided unnecessary conflict, especially with an impending issue at hand. Yet, their presence only complicated matters.
Who were they to stop him? An inner elder's grandson?
"We haven't met, but your reputation precedes you. Being Elder Rong's grandson is quite a title," the spiky-haired man remarked with enthusiasm.
"We've heard about your fight with our cousin," the other, more somber man stated, advancing toward him.
They encircled him.
"I don't know what you're referring to," Rong Xiren retorted, his brow furrowing. "But if this is an ambush, you should have done better research. I'm an inner elder's grandson. Even if you were Qi Gathering peak cultivators, which I doubt, provoking an elder's descendant isn't wise."
These individuals! Their disdainful glances betrayed their lack of regard. Rong Xiren seethed with frustration. However, they weren't ordinary outer disciples he could intimidate.
Rong Xiren attempted to walk past them, but the spiky-haired man placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Let's start over. I'm Liu Bo," the man's friendly facade waned. "And that brooding fellow with the long hair is Liu Heng. And the lady there is Liu Qian."
Liu Bo gestured toward a distant tree where a young girl sat, her shoulder-length dark hair framing a disinterested expression.
As if this were merely a mundane task for her.
How had she eluded his detection? She didn't even seem to be concealing herself.
Furrowing his brow, Rong Xiren attempted to recall, gradually realizing that while the two men were unfamiliar, the young woman was someone he had seen somewhere. Though he couldn't quite remember where.
"If you haven't grasped it yet," the spiky-haired man redirected his attention. "We're all part of the Liu Clan. You, my friend, recently beat up one of our clan members."
"I'm the grandson of Elder Rong!" Rong Xiren asserted.
"We're aware," the girl spoke softly, gracefully descending from the tree as if riding down on leaves before touching the ground. "But the individual you assaulted for amusement happens to be the grandson of an elder within the Liu Clan. This elder, aside from Liu Feng, has no descendants with cultivation potential. So it would be troublesome if any harm befell his grandson and we ignored it."
"You know," Liu Bo shrugged. "It's safer to upset someone outside the clan than someone within."
Approaching Rong Xiren with an eerie calmness, the girl's breath was quiet, akin to that of the dead, and her eyes colder than ice. "Choosing Liu Feng was a grave mistake. He's cherished by his grandfather, his fiance is an important ally's daughter, and he is deemed the most talented youth of his generation in the Liu Clan."
She shrugged, her nails emanating an intense and concentrated Qi at their tips. The Qi was so potent that it illuminated her nails and was dense enough for even a non-cultivator to perceive.
Rong Xiren trembled, a bead of sweat tracing down his cheek.
She was no ordinary inner disciple.
"To be frank, I don't recall much about Liu Feng," she admitted. "The only memorable traits were his long hair and his obsession with jade-like beauties. He also threw quite the tantrum upon meeting his young fiance."
Liu Bo chuckled, "That incident caused quite a stir. It was the talk of the year."
"He grew out of it eventually," Liu Heng remarked. "We can't judge him based on tantrums he threw as a child."
"True," Liu Qian agreed. "Anyway, enough reminiscing in front of a stranger. Hold him down."
Rong Xiren struggled to resist, but his efforts were futile. The two men gripped his arms with unyielding strength, capable of tearing them from his body. He had underestimated them, focusing solely on the enigmatic young woman. Yet, these men possessed higher cultivation levels than him.
"Release me! I'm Elder Rong's grandson!" Rong Xiren yelled, attempting to break free. However, they restrained him effortlessly, treating him like a rabid dog. Meanwhile, the girl's hand moved swiftly, striking his abdomen with a burning sensation.
"Ahhh!" Rong Xiren cried out, collapsing to the ground as the unbearable heat coursed through his body.
The foreign Qi within him spread rapidly, disrupting his Qi center and spiritual roots. Panic surged within him as he realized the gravity of the situation. Tears welled up, something he hadn't experienced in years resurfaced. "Please! No! Spare my cultivation! Please, don't destroy it!"
But his pleas fell on deaf ears. The three Liu Clan members conversed amongst themselves, ignoring his distress.
"After we're done with him, won't the sect send another?" Liu Bo inquired.
"That's why you should meet with our cousin on the other side before returning to the family with the thing," Liu Qian advised.
"Moreover, Liu Qian and I will face our own challenges. Elder Rong won't take this lightly, so we must be careful. Especially when Liu Qian is so close to a breakthrough," Liu Heng remarked.
They continued their discussion, oblivious to Rong Xiren's despair. The tables had turned on him. Despite having crushed the cultivation of others in the past, now he lay broken and defeated, in the same situation as his once victims. Even the ones who had destroyed his cultivation acted about as nonchalant about it as he had at the time.
"It hurts," he muttered, tears streaming down his face as he lay on the ground, feeling the sting of the foreign Qi entering his Dantian and exploding.
This was the consequence of one petty fight, one small mistake had destroyed his whole lifetime's work. He would never be able to recover as his Spiritual Roots twisted and turned.
For him, this was the worst day of his life. For others, it was just another day in this unforgiving world of cultivation...
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