Yari pounced on Yun Qiang, his knife swiftly targeting his heart.
"Die"
His smile widened, he could already see himself drinking tea in his mansion while servants served him delicious food.
Yari's weapon had almost reached his target when Yun Qiang moved, his healthy arm swinging towards Yari. His fingers straight like spears.
Yari hesitated for a moment, he was expecting an easy win; however, he didn't see any fear in Yun Qiang's eyes, only determination. However, he was a professional, there was no reason for him to lose his calm.
His gaze sharpened.
I've seen this many times! You can't fool me!
He hastily moved out of the way of the palm. He had seen this kind of trick many times in his career. First, you attack your enemy with a seemingly innocuous palm or punch, then at the last second, when your opponent couldn't dodge out of the way, you create a Qi blade, killing your enemy with one swift move.
Yari grinned, after dodging, he had found himself in a position of complete advantage, Yun Qiang was completely exposed. Yari only needed to move his weapon forward and cut, there was no way he could lose this fight.
However, just as he was about to cut his enemy down, something pierced his body from one side to the other. Yari felt his strength leave him as a feeling of coldness spread all over his body.
His vision quickly darkened.
As he fell to the ground, he barely managed to see his enemy's hidden weapon.
A blood spear.
Yun Qiang looked at Yari's dead body, his body still energized by the sudden rush of adrenaline.
It didn't take him long to recognize the man as one of Tian Lao's hunters.
"Ah.."
He sighed as his tired gaze turned to Voss.
"I'm sorry, Sir, I can't give you a proper burial..."
He bowed down as a sign of respect to his deceased mentor. He had to move on and start his long march towards the Shard, other hunters could arrive at any moment, he couldn't linger around Voss forever.
He sighed and started walking away, yet after just a few steps, he stopped, unable to move forward.
His gaze fell on the recently deceased aggressor, his body was almost touching his mentor's feet.
"Ahh"
He let out an exasperated sigh.
"I can't leave it like this."
He turned around and moved away the body, he didn't want another body to sully Voss's spot.
While moving him, his eyes noticed his mentor's spear under a nearby bush.
The weapon had probably rolled away when Voss had fallen on the ground.
Yun Qiang took it, his hands instinctively rubbing against the shaft, weighing the spear, seeing if it was still usable.
Should I take it?
He looked at Voss.
On one hand, his mentor hadn't mentioned the spear, so it wasn't Yun Qiang's property.
On the other hand, Yun Qiang desperately needed a real weapon.
Yes, he could use his blood spear to take his enemies by surprise and kill them, but it lost the majority of its utility when someone knew he could use this kind of skill. Besides this, the blood spear was a blood technique, making it impossible to use in public.
He didn't want to become a public enemy, hated by both sides.
In the end, he decided to compromise.
He turned towards his mentor, stabbed the spear on the ground, then bowed down.
"I'm sorry, Sir, but I need this weapon to survive."
He got down on one knee. His voice became increasingly solemn.
"I swear on my honor as a cultivator."
"One day, I will come back here, give you a proper burial, and leave this weapon with its rightful owner."
After doing this, Yun Qiang slowly got up and left. His eyes staring at Voss until his body had completely turned, forcing him to look straight ahead, toward the depth of the forest.
Toward the Shard.
However, as he continued his walk, he couldn't help but murmur one last promise.
"I will come back, only when I'm someone you can be proud of....."
As he walked away he whispered.
"One day, I will become someone worthy of your respect."
Not too far away, in Yun Qiang's old camp, Tian Lao punched a servant in the face, his left hand resting steadily on the pommel of his blade, ready to strike his servant down.
Killing intent surged from within him, but he restrained himself.
If I kill another one, I won't have enough money for a new sword.
He turned around and unsheathed his blade. The sun from outside the tent shined on the cold metal, making Tian Lao look like a vicious and merciless murderer.
The servant huddled in a corner of the tent, not daring to run away. His young face was filled with sweat as he waited for Tian Lao to strike him down, ending his existence.
Yet Tian Lao didn't intend to kill the servant, instead he was examining the edge of the blade. His dark eyes focused on a series of visible dents along the lower part of the weapon.
"Bastard..." he murmured while throwing the blade across the tent, not minding who it could hit or where it went.
Even if his prey was long dead on the ground somewhere in the forest, Tian Lao didn't feel satisfied with today's outcome. The first reason was his ruined blade, the weapon was made with cold iron, a precious and resistant material. Tian Lao had spent two years of his income to buy the blade, and it was worth every single contribution point. In the five years he had used it, he had never needed maintenance nor did it need sharpening, but now, after a single fight with Voss, the once smooth edge had become jagged, making the weapon essentially useless.
The second reason for his anger wasn't related to the blade but to Voss. Yes, he had killed him, however, the man had launched himself into a river. Obviously, Tian Lao had sent his best tracker after him, however, Yari hadn't returned yet.
This led him to his current conundrum. To repair the blade, he needed money from Voss's bounty, and to get the bounty, he needed Voss's body.
He made his hand into a fist and slammed it on a nearby table, breaking it in one hit.
"Ahhhhh! It's so annoying!"
Suddenly, a calm yet mocking voice came from outside the tent, making Tian Lao's blood freeze in his veins.
"Little brother, why are you screaming? Are you still bothering the servants?"
The voice sounded calm, however, Tian Lao knew the fury that hid beneath the calm tone.
"No... Brother"
Tian Lao's voice was low, almost timid.
Slowly, a young man with sharp features came into the room, his eyes easily scanning the surroundings.
"Good." Tian Jian's eyes briefly stopped on the bruised servant before moving to his brother.
"You should try to restrain yourself. If you had a little more self-control, then you would have reached the Golden Core Realm a few years ago."
Tian Lao grinded his teeth.
"I know..." he wanted to blame his brother for it, but he held his tongue.
Paying fines for one's misdeed was normal, Tian Jian was only following the law.
The ruined weapon caught Tian Jian's attention.
"You did this?" As he talked, Tian Jian moved his hands toward the handle, taking the blade from the ground.
Tian Lao stared at the blade.
"I dueled with Tanarest Voss. That damned man had a reinforced spear, I noticed the damage only when the fight ended."
"How much?" Tian Jian didn't seem too interested in his brother's story.
"1500 points, I can barely afford to repair it." Tian Lao instinctively looked away.
Rage and shame brewing within him.
"And his spear? Cold iron is worth quite a lot right now. You can probably get more if you sell it."
Tian Lao made a fist with his hands, the way his brother talked sounded amicable. But he knew his brother was doing this just to mock him and weaken his reputation.
"I still haven't recovered the body." He paused, his patience was at his limit. "He fell into the river..."
The room fell into silence. However, to Tian Lao, it felt like a grand choir mocking his incompetence.
"Bring it to the smith and tell him I will pay. You can pay me later."
After saying this, Tian Jian turned around and left the room, leaving his enraged brother behind.
Tian Lao gritted his teeth.
Nobody could fathom how much he hated his brother. Every time he did something good, his brother did something better. Every time he failed, his brother shined through, mocking his failure while wearing a mask made out of fake benevolence.
Tian Lao gripped the air, trying to strangle a non-existing entity, then he turned around, his enraged eyes meeting the pleading ones of his servant.
Then he punched down.