Questioning Heaven, Desiring the Way

Many of the other spectators agreed that Gu Suihan would definitely die if he showed up to fight. Besides having spent much less time in cultivation compared to Li Xianlong, Gu Suihan had also killed Li Xianlong’s older brother. There was no way Li Xianlong was going to let Gu Suihan off.

At the same time, even though some also agreed that not turning up would be the wise thing to do, they would despise Gu Suihan if he really chose to save his own ass instead of fighting.

“He’s here! He’s here!” someone in the crowd suddenly exclaimed.

Everyone turned and saw Gu Suihan walk calmly towards the Black Arena with a sword.

“Hoho, he’s pretending to be calm!” Those planted in the crowd sneered at him.

Almost nobody believed Gu Suihan would survive this duel. After all, Li Xianlong had been part of the sect for several years now and was a really good swordsman. He had slaughtered almost every challenger who had come his way. He hardly ever lost a fight.

“West Compound disciple, Li Xianlong, officially challenges East Compound disciple, Gu Suihan, for 300 Spiritual Stones,” announced a disciplinarian seated on a chair by the side of the arena. He was refereeing the duel today.

“According to the rules, Gu Suihan is not allowed to decline. Both parties will fight until either one party dies, or admits defeat.”

…

“Do you think he will win?” Miss Mo suddenly appeared behind Li Rong.

“Hur hur. How would I know?” Li Rong laughed faintly as he rubbed his nose. But alarm bells started ringing deep inside his heart. It had only been a few months since he last saw her, yet she had improved by so much. Was she on her way to the Mid Foundation Establishment stage already, he thought?

“I think he can win.” Miss Mo took a few steps forward to stand next to Li Rong.

“Hur hur…perhaps…”

…

“So, how confident are you now?” asked Gu Suihan with a smile as he stood within the arena.

Li Xianlong slowly opened his eyes. They sparkled brightly for a moment before he slowly reduced the intensity of his gaze. “50%. Or maybe 40%.”

“Why did you still come then?”

“The Way Seekers Alliance sent word to me yesterday. They said that if I kill you here, they’ll add on 500 Spiritual Stones.” Li Xianlong looked down and decided to come clean.

“Tsk.” Gu Suihan looked mildly surprised. “How generous. I almost feel like chopping my own head off and giving it to her,” he said as he looked down at the two watching him and smiled brightly as he stared blatantly at Miss Mo’s full bust.

“Humph!” Miss Mo could tell what Gu Suihan was thinking about, so she took a deep breath and glared at him fiercely as she hissed, “This boy!”

Zzzzing! An ear-piercing noise filled the air as Li Xianlong dragged his heavy sword across the black arena made from metal, causing dazzling sparks to fly everywhere.

“Rise of the Golden Sun!”

All the disciples watching felt as though they could see a three-legged crow¹ glowing with the heat of the sun flying straight for Gu Suihan. Flames shot up from the sparks and a wall of fire instantly appeared in the already heated arena.

There was a loud crack and an ear-deafening clang as a brilliant gleam met the flaming three-legged crow head on. Gu Suihan’s sword moved so quickly, it looked like a blur to everyone else.

“He’s so fast…” exclaimed the crowd as they watched Gu Suihan cover more than ten meters in a split second. Some of them hadn’t even realized what had just happened.

“Warring Crow Soaring Wings!”

Li Xianlong’s eyes widened and his expression was threatening as he switched the direction of his heavy sword from thrusting it upwards to sweeping it sideways instead. The impact of suddenly changing directions clearly didn’t cause Li Xianlong any harm.

Lines and lines of flames leaped up from around Li Xianlong. His heavy sword was as red as a branding iron, giving off a horrifying amount of steam as he thrust it towards Gu Suihan’s waist.

Gu Suihan stepped lightly on his toes, brought his sword down low as he crouched on the floor. But before Li Xianlong could display any glee on his face, he realized that Gu Suihan was wriggling across the floor at top speed like a snake, quickly making it through the flames.

“Step on the Wind! Chase the Shadow!”

Li Xianlong suddenly transformed into a strong gust of wind. His body whooshed loudly as he flew towards Gu Suihan, who had just gotten up again.

The speed and strength of the wind that Li Xianlong had conjured up seemed both invincible and unstoppable.

“Not bad.” Gu Suihan’s lips twitched as he suddenly lowered his body, then turned his waist when Li Xianlong was just a few inches away from him. Unfortunately, Li Xianlong still managed to burn a large hole into the clothing around Gu Suihan’s waist.

Seeing that Li Xianlong had his back turned towards him, Gu Suihan turned to thrust his sword swiftly and powerfully toward Li Xianlong’s back.

“Cries of a Ghost!”

Li Xianlong felt a chill down his spine and immediately turned his heavy sword upwards and held it up behind his back to act as a shield.

Zzzzing! Gu Suihan’s sword glided across Li Xianlong’s blade, making sparks fly in all directions.

“Humph!” His attack failed, so Gu Suihan scoffed as he gave Li Xianlong a good kick instead.

Pfft! This unexpected force from behind made Li Xianlong stumbled several steps forward before a large amount of blood sprayed out from his mouth.

He was furious as he wiped away the blood around his lips. “What a strong body you have,” he muttered as he glared hatefully at Gu Suihan, while Gu Suihan stood where he was and kept his sword away.

“The same could be said about you.”

“Take another move from me,” said Gu Suihan with a smile.

“Fall of the Immortal!”

Gu Suihan pointed his sword downwards, making the tip of the blade scrape noisily against the metal surface of the arena and leaving a long line behind him.

His expression was serious as he suddenly brought it up and rotated his wrist, his frosty gaze reflected in the blade as he lowered his center of gravity and charged forward.

In that instant, everyone lost sight of Gu Suihan.

“He’s there!” someone shouted.

Gu Suihan had appeared right next to Li Xianlong in an instant.

The glint of the sword tip made Li Xianlong’s pores open. Before he could react, he felt a terrible pain in his torso.

But when Gu Suihan tried to brandish his sword again, Li Xianlong had already swung his heavy sword down powerfully toward Gu Suihan.

Since it was not possible to attack Li Xianlong, Gu Suihan swiftly slammed his left foot against Li Xianlong’s knee, using it as a springboard to leap away from the attack.

“Not bad.” Li Xianlong glowered at Gu Suihan as his left hand gently touched the wound inflicted by Gu Suihan.

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“My turn: Blazing Sun in the Sky!”

Li Xianlong gave a shout as his left hand wiped his sword down and his heavy sword trembled with a soft buzzing sound. A meter-long flame suddenly shot out from the hilt, and the blazing flame was so hot that parts of it turned white.

It was as if Li Xianlong was holding onto the sun itself, the heat rising so rapidly that the black metal was beginning to melt.

“Ride the Wind! Catch the Sky!” he yelled as he ran on air, defying gravity as he charged towards Gu Suihan.

Gu Suihan’s expression finally budged when he saw Li Xianlong come towards him like a powerful three-legged crow. He couldn’t dodge this attack at all. He simply couldn’t.

“He’s going to die,” said Miss Mo flatly with a mysterious look in her eye.

Li Rong turned to look at her in surprise and caught sight of the incomprehensible look in her eye. He couldn’t help but go into a daze for a moment. Miss Mo looked like a gorgeous lotus flower, an otherworldly and aloof sort of beauty.

“Nothing is confirmed until the fight ends.”

“Since I can’t dodge it, then I won’t.” Gu Suihan’s look hardened as he suddenly raised his left hand swiftly.

Everyone watched as a gleam of green tore through the air towards Li Xianlong.

“Tch. That’s it?” Li Xianlong snorted when he realized that the thing coming toward him was just a dagger. If it were some arrow or spear capable of piercing walls, he would definitely dodge it. But this dagger was only a few inches long. It might not even be enough to pierce through his skin.

Li Xianlong gave a loud shout and spat out some saliva at the same time. The shout carried the saliva far enough to hit the side of the dagger, breaking the blade off. Li Xianlong then turned to stare down at Gu Suihan with a triumphant smile.

“What on earth…”

That was the only thing everyone could say as they stared in shock at Li Xianlong, while even Gu Suihan’s lips twitched slightly.

“You mean that’s even possible?!” exclaimed Li Rong as his eyes and mouth widened.

“Incredible!” Miss Mo’s eyes were equally wide.

It should still work, thought Gu Suihan.

“Worldly Passions!” Gu Suihan’s hair flew wildly as he slowly sliced the air in front of him with the remainder of his dagger with a calm expression on his face.

This slash seemed to not only cut through the air but also cut right through Li Xianlong’s subconscious.

As that blade of Gu Suihan’s sword came down slowly like the way a child pretended to be a swordsman, Li Xianlong felt his mind waver violently.

In the next moment, Li Xianlong roared in horror, “How can this be?!”

To him, Gu Suihan had transformed into a genial woman who looked exactly like his late mother.

A faint chanting started to fill the air, a chanting that was gentle, familiar, and filled with love.

“My son, put your sword down and go home with Mother,” the woman’s gentle voice rang in his ears.

“Long’er, come home with Father. We’re not going to stay here anymore.” That voice belonged to his father.

“As long as I’m around, nobody will be able to bully my precious brother!” That voice belonged to his older sister, who got married and moved out years ago.

“No!!” Li Xianlong looked like he had gone completely insane. His eyes were bulging as he stared furiously at where Gu Suihan was standing and roared, “My heart for the way is as strong as a rock! These are just illusions! How is it able to affect my mind? Begone! Disturb me no more!!”

The voices ringing in his head seemed to have gotten a fright and sounded even more anxious now.

But Li Xianlong ignored the voices and desperately tried to use every technique he knew to drive those voices away. Blood began seeping out from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth as the magic energy in his body gushed into the heavy sword in his hands.

“World of Brilliance!”

The heavy sword had transformed into a huge ball of light that was too bright for anyone to look at directly. The terrible heat it emitted burned anything it touched to a crisp.

“Lowly brat, meet your maker!”

As he roared, the ball of light boomed like thunder and fired a beam of light toward Gu Suihan.

The Clacker’s ShadyShadyShady Izakaya

Today’s snack recommendation: Ankimo. The monkfish looks crazy but its liver is YUM. Umami: ********

1. Three-legged crow