Jiang Wang's words had barely fallen when his sword left its scabbard.
"Wh—what!?"
Cold light flashed. Fang Pengju tumbled backward, rolling and scrambling to avoid the blow, his face a twisted mask of shock and fury. He looked utterly wretched.
Apart from him, no one else reacted in time. Almost everyone had expected the next scene to be one of reconciliation—two brothers embracing, their loyalty becoming the talk of the academy.
No one had imagined that under the eyes of the crowd, with brotherhood itself being used as leverage, Jiang Wang would actually draw his blade.
"Pengju." Jiang Wang looked at him with a smile, but that smile was chilling. "You said you would stretch out your neck and wait for the blow. Why did you dodge?"
Fang Pengju's handsome face alternated between green and white. He climbed to his feet and gritted his teeth, meeting Jiang Wang's gaze. "Third Brother, do you truly care nothing for our bond?"
"You shameless bastard!" By now Du Yehu was beside himself with rage. "I must have been blind to call you my brother!"
He started forward, but Jiang Wang raised a hand to stop him.
"Second Brother, let me handle this myself."
Fang Pengju glared at Du Yehu. "Du Yehu! What business is this of yours!?"
"Fang Pengju, you have disappointed me greatly!" Even the usually magnanimous Ling He could not contain his anger. He stepped forward, drew the sword at his waist, cut a corner from his robe, and threw it to the ground. "From this moment on, you and I sever our brotherhood!"
"Big Brother!" Fang Pengju let out a bitter laugh. "Second Brother has always been impulsive, but even you cannot understand me? I would willingly die to prove my innocence, but my parents had only me as their son. I am their only descendant, the hope they could not let go of even in death! My life is not my own—how can I die here? Jiang Wang believes evil rumors and refuses to listen. He wants me dead! Does he still have any brotherhood in his heart?"
"Fourth Brother, this is the last time I will call you that," said Zhao Rucheng, the youngest of the Five Heroes of Fenglin. His face still held a trace of youth, yet he was already strikingly handsome. When he spoke now, his words rang like gold and jade falling to the floor. "Fang Decai bears the Fang surname! His family has served the Fang household for generations! What could a pack of defeated bandits offer to buy him? Are you insulting the Fang family's wealth, or are you insulting all of our intelligence? How did a group of Western Mountain dogs slip into Fenglin City and set a trap at Wangyue Tower so openly? Finally, if you never had the resolve to die for your innocence, then who was that show of grief just now performed for? I, Zhao Rucheng, am ashamed to stand with you!"
Among the five, Ling He and Jiang Wang came from poor families, Du Yehu was middling, while Fang Pengju and Zhao Rucheng were wealthy young masters. The Fang family's status went without saying. The Zhao family, though newcomers to Fenglin City within the last decade, possessed unfathomable resources.
"Little Five, you have always been close with Third Brother and favored him. But am I not also your Fourth Brother? You have no evidence, only speculation, yet you speak such soul-piercing words—does your conscience rest easy?"
Fang Pengju looked deeply pained, as if tormented beyond endurance.
"Your eloquence is still as sharp as ever, Pengju," Jiang Wang said, stopping Zhao Rucheng and the others. "But have you ever wondered why, even when I was seriously wounded and fleeing, I did not secretly contact Big Brother, Second Brother, or Little Five? Why did I wait until today to find you?"
His eyelids lowered slightly. "Because I never wanted to make them choose. I did not want them to doubt, to be caught in the middle. What lies between you and me is ours alone. If I died, then so be it. Since I am alive, what is owed must be repaid."
Fang Pengju looked at him coldly. "Are you paranoid? I owe you nothing. How am I supposed to repay? Why are you so obsessed?"
But Jiang Wang no longer spoke to him. He turned toward the towering statue of the Dao Venerable in the academy courtyard and bowed from afar. "This disciple, Jiang Wang, was harmed by the traitor Fang Pengju and nearly lost my life. This grudge cannot be resolved; this hatred cannot be erased. I ask to duel him to the death!"
An uproar swept through the crowd below.
A Dao-Tested Death Duel!
Killing a fellow disciple was a crime, but if there was truly irreconcilable blood enmity, the Dao Academy did not forbid duels.
And among all forms of duels, one witnessed by the Dao Venerable was the most irreversible.
The Daoist tradition held that the Dao Venerable reclined beyond the ninth heaven, perceiving the entire universe. To speak his name was to be known by him. To bow before his image was to be felt by him. Any oath involving the Dao Venerable became unbreakable.
A Dao-Tested Death Duel ended only in death.
As soon as Jiang Wang finished speaking, a middle-aged Daoist in black robes appeared before the statue.
His face was solemn, his beard short. On the right side of his black Daoist robe was embroidered a small azure dragon, so lifelike it seemed almost real. This was the Dragon-Rising Dao Robe, worn only by experts of the middle three grades.
Secular cultivators were broadly divided into nine grades. Different traditions might use different names and manifest different extraordinary powers, but their ranks roughly corresponded to this nine-grade system. Grades nine to seven were the lower tier, six to four the middle tier, and three to one the upper tier. Curiously, this also aligned with the official ranks of the various kingdoms.
Of course, in a small kingdom like Zhuang, even a first-rank chancellor might not truly possess first-rank strength.
The moment this black-robed, short-bearded Daoist appeared, all the disciples bowed in respect. "Dean!"
There were few in all of Fenglin City who could wear the black Dragon-Rising Robe. Among them was Dong A, dean of the Fenglin Dao Academy. It was said he had once cultivated in the capital of Zhuang, Xincheng, but his upright and impartial nature had offended powerful nobles, leading to his transfer to Fenglin City in Qinghe Commandery.
Ling He's face was grief-stricken, but he said nothing. He knew Jiang Wang's swordsmanship better than anyone. Before formal cultivation of Dao arts began, no one in the Outer Court was his match—and that included Fang Pengju.
But since Jiang Wang had proposed a Dao-Tested Death Duel, it meant his grievance was beyond resolution. With the dean personally present, Fang Pengju either had to fight desperately or wait helplessly for the academy to investigate the ambush.
Yet how could Fang Pengju withstand an academy investigation?
In truth, he had no choice.
Under countless gazes of suspicion, mockery, and anger, Fang Pengju's face showed no panic. "Third Brother, do you truly wish to draw swords against each other?"
Jiang Wang said indifferently, "The one who brought us to this point is you, not me."
"What would it take for you to believe me?"
"I have already paid for that trust with my life. Words are useless now. The Fang Pengju I remember is not a coward who dares not fight."
Fang Pengju was unmoved. "Are you so confident you can kill me?"
Jiang Wang looked at him calmly. "You are welcome to try."
Fang Pengju stared at him for a long moment, then suddenly laughed. "Unfortunately, you cannot kill me. Our duel cannot stand. Just two days ago, my Dao meridian first manifested. I am already an Inner Court disciple! We are on different levels—how can we duel?"
As he spoke, he straightened his body and fully stimulated his Dao meridian. Everyone present could sense a force rise from the great dragon of his spine, filling his spirit with vigor. This meant his Dao meridian had manifested, his flesh could feed it to produce Dao essence, and he had formally gained extraordinary power.
The academy had long established rules for duels. One important rule was that an invitation to duel across different levels could be refused unconditionally. This protected lower-grade cultivators from being bullied by higher-grade ones. But now it became Fang Pengju's excuse to escape.
Although his Dao meridian had manifested, it had not been long, and he had not begun studying Dao arts. His strength had not fundamentally improved, so he still had no confidence in facing Jiang Wang.
Jiang Wang fell silent.
He looked at Fang Pengju in silence, his emotions complex.
Then he spoke slowly. "For this Meridian-Opening Pill, I charged into the Western Mountains alone, fought through blood, and broke the bandit nest. In that battle, I suffered thirteen wounds, two of them fatal."
"To get the best effect from the pill, I planned to wait until my body recovered to its peak before using it. I understood that possessing a treasure invites crime, so I told no one. Everyone thought I would swallow the pill that same day—except you, except us five brothers who had lived and died together. Because I had nothing to hide from you."
"From the age of five, when I first touched the world of cultivation, I pursued this Meridian-Opening Pill. I was not born with a manifest Dao meridian; to reach the extraordinary, I could only rely on pills. It was my path of cultivation, my hope, my light. You knew my family's situation. You knew how hard I worked. I practiced sword before dawn and rested only when the moon was high. I never went to brothels, never indulged myself in any way. In all of Fenglin Dao Academy's Outer Court, I dare say no disciple worked harder than me. For this Meridian-Opening Pill, I worked for eleven full years!"
Jiang Wang fixed his eyes on Fang Pengju. "Mixed with my sweat, my blood, and my tears—this Meridian-Opening Pill of mine, was it easy to use?"
The courtyard fell utterly silent.
Ling He's lips pressed tight. Zhao Rucheng clenched his jaw. Even a man like Du Yehu had tears streaming down his face.
Who among them did not know Jiang Wang's obsession, his exhaustion, his suffering?
And Fang Pengju had actually been cruel enough to do this!
"I don't know what nonsense you're talking about!" A flicker of discomfort crossed Fang Pengju's face, but he quickly suppressed it. "My uncle led a merchant caravan through Cloud Kingdom early this month and happened to buy a Meridian-Opening Pill from a cultivator short on funds. That is how my Dao meridian manifested. What does that have to do with you? Don't assume everyone is as poor and desperate as you, willing to do anything to advance! My Fang family is wealthy—can we not afford a single Meridian-Opening Pill?"
Zhao Rucheng was now consumed by hatred, no longer holding back his words. "Indeed, the Fang family is wealthy. Unfortunately, your parents died early, and you are not the sole legitimate heir. The resources allotted to you are limited. Otherwise, why had you never obtained a Meridian-Opening Pill all this time, yet so conveniently possessed one right after Third Brother was attacked?"
"What a coincidence. All I can say is, what a coincidence!" Fang Pengju's eyes turned cold. "Do not speak of things without evidence. For the sake of our brotherhood, I will not hold it against you. But if there is a next time, as an Inner Court disciple, I will teach you what respect between ranks means!"
"You!" Zhao Rucheng was furious.
Du Yehu ground his teeth so hard they seemed about to crack. If the dean were not present, he would have loved to smash Fang Pengju's handsome face with a single punch.
Only Jiang Wang remained calm. "Fang Pengju, I told you. You are too arrogant, too self-assured, and you often overlook the truth because of it. I taught you this—why could you never learn?"
"Why don't you consider: if a Dao-Tested Duel cannot stand, then why would Dean Dong A be here?"
He stepped forward and similarly stimulated his Dao meridian. The earthworm-like channel in the great dragon of his spine thrashed violently. He became as sharp as a sword, as straight as a sword!
"It is because my Dao meridian has also manifested. I too have formally gained the possibility of the extraordinary!"
"We are on the same level, and you dare not let the dean investigate. Therefore, the duel stands!"
Even as Fang Pengju's face changed drastically, Dean Dong A swept his wide sleeve.
Right at the academy entrance, right beneath Jiang Wang and Fang Pengju's feet, a sapling suddenly broke through the ground. Within a few breaths it grew wildly, becoming a massive wooden stump that lifted the two of them up while keeping the other Outer Court disciples outside.
The top of the stump was as flat as if cut by a sharp blade, ten paces across. From afar it looked like a circular wooden platform. Only around its edges, branches swayed.
Fang Pengju had no doubt that if he turned and fled, those seemingly harmless branches would transform into man-eating beasts.
And Jiang Wang's hand was already on his sword hilt, ready to strike.
Dong A casually beckoned, and a twining branch lifted the sword Fang Pengju had discarded on the ground and flung it onto the platform.
Fang Pengju caught it.
Before the statue of the Dao Venerable whose face could never be clearly seen, the fifth-grade cultivator, Inner Court Daoist Dong A, declared in a cold voice: "Dao-Tested Death Duel—begin!"