Chapter 5: You Experienced Everything I Have

As Dong Ah declared the commencement of the duel, the two swords on the wooden platform clashed with immediate ferocity!

Before the contest, Fang Pengju had appeared hesitant and evasive. Yet, with the true beginning of the duel, all pretense vanished. His sword strikes were remarkably steady, precise, and utterly ruthless, devoid of any superfluous movement. To have risen above the multitude of outer disciples at Maple Forest Academy, and to have earned the respect of Jiang Wang and others in the past, he was clearly not a man of hollow reputation.

However, Jiang Wang proved swifter, steadier, and possessed of a greater resolve!

This was because he had endured a wait of fifty-seven days, and in those long days and nights, this very scene had been a constant presence in his thoughts.

Even when gravely injured, even when illness ravaged him, even when he teetered on the brink of death multiple times.

When foes crossed blades, injury or death was to be expected. But the agony and torment of the heart, born from the betrayal by the one he trusted most, surpassed any physical pain.

What sustained him through those desolate days, beyond the boundless yearning for life, was an unforgettable hatred!

With a single sword strike, he shattered Fang Pengju's momentum.

As his sword entered, so did his person. He used his lower abdomen to absorb the impact of Fang Pengju's longsword. Amidst the splash of blood, Jiang Wang swung his own blade horizontally with chilling indifference, severing Fang Pengju's tendons!

Two wounds appeared almost simultaneously, yet one was delivered actively, the other received passively, a distinction that sealed the outcome.

Jiang Wang pressed forward again, using his elbow to brace his body before launching himself forward. He slammed into Fang Pengju's chest with brutal force.

Fang Pengju, having just lost control of his sword under the searing pain, the next instant heard the distinct cracking of his own bones.

His body crumpled like a shrimp, sent hurtling towards the edge of the platform. He was rebounded by the swaying branches of the surrounding arrays and fell to the ground below.

In but a single exchange, Fang Pengju was defeated!

"How is this possible? The disparity... is so immense?!"

A clamor erupted from below the platform.

Everything unfolded with startling speed. Jiang Wang's blood, mingled with the tears shed over the Meridian Opening Pill, had ignited Fang Pengju's nascent Dao meridians, causing his aura to surge.

The sword, imbued with Jiang Wang's hatred and suffering, had also sent Fang Pengju tumbling into the dust.

"He was defeated by himself, by fear," Zhao Rucheng murmured, his voice low. "Had it not been for fear, he would not have resorted to harming Third Brother and seizing the Meridian Opening Pill through such vile means. He knew he had no other path to surpass Third Brother. Once the gap widened, he would never be able to catch up."

Ling He could not suppress a sigh. "When Third Brother first arrived at the academy, his strength was at the bottom, far inferior to Pengju. After a few years, his swordsmanship was recognized as the finest among the outer disciples, and Pengju had always been proud..."

Du Yehuhu scoffed angrily, "Ultimately, is it not due to incompetence and utter shamelessness!?"

Clang~Dang!

Jiang Wang slowly withdrew the longsword that had pierced his abdomen and casually tossed it aside.

The blood-stained blade clattered to the ground, as helpless and disoriented as Fang Pengju, who was vomiting blood.

With the longsword hanging at his side, Jiang Wang walked slowly forward.

"Help! Dean, help! I am a descendant of the Fang family, one of the three great clans of this city!"

Fang Pengju cried out in terror, his earlier air of a noble scion completely vanished.

Dong Ah remained expressionless. "Since this is a life-and-death Dao duel, there is naturally no end to it. The only one who determines your life or death is your opponent."

"Third Brother, Third Brother!" Fang Pengju propped himself up on the ground, inching backward. "Spare me, spare me! Just this once!"

"The Fang family is a century-old lineage! Yet it has been twenty years since a cultivator who pushed open the Gate of Heaven and Earth has appeared! One step delayed, every step delayed! How much time do I have left to wait? I cannot stop, I carry the earnest hopes of my deceased father, I cannot stop!"

He looked at Jiang Wang with tear-filled eyes. "Your Meridian Opening Pill, I'll tell you, will you give it to me?"

Jiang Wang remained silent.

"My uncle went to the Yun Kingdom, but he couldn't acquire a Meridian Opening Pill at all. Even if he had, it might not have been given to me. The control of the Meridian Opening Pills is growing ever stricter, only rewarding the most promising outer disciples. Only you in the entire Maple Forest Academy have earned such merit. I had no other way, I had no other way!" Fang Pengju wept uncontrollably.

Jiang Wang's eyes narrowed. "I actually understand you. I understand your anxiety, your unease, and your fear. The Fang family is a prominent clan, offering you a superior environment, but the competition is also fierce. I've known for a long time that human desires are boundless. I also know how much you longed to prove yourself, how much you wished to bring honor to your father who died young. You've spoken of it, and I remember. You were too eager for success, and you lost your way. In truth, I can understand."

As a flicker of hope ignited in Fang Pengju's eyes, Jiang Wang continued, "But understanding does not equate to forgiveness."

Having spoken, Jiang Wang arrived before Fang Pengju.

The longsword traced a clean arc in the air, piercing into his chest with precision and not a hint of hesitation.

"To repay grievances with virtue, how then is virtue to be repaid?"

"Therefore, I have died once, and you must pay with your life."

Jiang Wang spoke slowly.

Fang Pengju seized the sword with his uninjured left hand, allowing the blade to cut into his palm, allowing the sword to remain within his body, allowing death to be delayed, if only for a moment.

He struggled to produce a coughing sound.

"After... taking your pill, I couldn't sleep each night. I regret it... I am truly sorry. But, but you are safe and sound, aren't you? We are brothers. Why... why can't you forgive me... this once."

Below the platform, many spectators felt a complex wave of emotion, unable to bear watching or listening further.

But Jiang Wang simply regarded him with calm eyes.

"Do you know what it feels like to be betrayed? Do you know the pain and anger that burns in your heart? You made my trust seem foolish, you made my experiences a mockery. You made my pain meaningless."

Memories flowed like water, but they held no warmth now, and could no longer stir up waves.

"Have you ever lain on a pile of hay, weak and powerless, able only to watch death approach?"

"I seemed to see two shadows swaying before me, and I knew they were the Black and White Impermanence. I seemed to hear their breathing, slow, slow, echoing in my ears. I once swore to defeat fate! But I knew I was about to die, and I was utterly helpless."

"If you have experienced what I have experienced, you will understand that some pain cannot be compensated. I am a man who has died once already. If I were to forgive you, I would not be worthy of facing myself."

Jiang Wang spoke to this point, and slowly and firmly pulled out the longsword.

The platform slowly descended, the branches retracted, and finally, the entire dueling arena conjured by Dao technique transformed back into a small sapling, burrowing into the earth.

And Fang Pengju lay quietly on the ground, his right hand hanging limply, his left hand still loosely clenched before him, as if still grasping the longsword that had taken his life. His eyes were wide open, still holding traces of pain, unwillingness, and a myriad of other emotions.

But he was already dead.

Ling He sighed softly, stepped forward, and removed his coat, covering Fang Pengju's face.

Du Yehuhu opened his mouth, as if to curse something, but in the end, no words emerged. The man was already gone.

Zhao Rucheng stood motionless, silent.

Jiang Wang stood quietly where he was, his gaze not upon anyone in the arena, but towards the endless, vast sky. It was as if he faced another self in another space and time.

"Rest in peace," he murmured in his heart.

His mind was clear. The earthworm within his spine suddenly became agile, leaping from the tailbone, traveling smoothly through a segment of its path, spitting out a round, full, and beautiful Dao Yuan.

Jiang Wang suddenly recalled a saying—If the world is understood, all is mere toil; if thoughts are clear, it becomes a resource.