~~~
Countless childhood memories flash through Liu Jin’s eyes. The many times Xiao Nan escorted him and his father so they could gather herbs outside Eastern Port City, how Xiao Nan protected him from the other disciples of the Xiao Sect when he joined, the trip to New Moon Town, all those times Xiao Nan gave him advice without him even needing to ask. Throughout Liu Jin’s childhood, Xiao Nan was always there for him.
That is why Liu Jin cannot believe his eyes.
The Xiao Nan he knew would never let himself look so dirty and disheveled. The Xiao Nan he knew was not a Renegade.
The Xiao Nan he knew is supposed to be dead.
“Elder Brother?” Liu Jin asks hesitantly.
Xiao Nan turns towards him, but he is not looking at him. His eyes are unfocused. Lost. His muscles twitch erratically. His head moves in sudden jerks,
“What’s this?” Xiao Nan yells. His aura is wild. It bristles with hostility, no different from a cornered animal. It is completely unlike the calm Elder Brother that Liu Jin knew growing up.
“Elder Brother!” Liu Jin repeats. The force of his presence forces Xiao Nan’s eyes to fully focus on him.
“Li…Little Brother?” Xiao Nan’s voice is rough, as if he had been yelling for a long time. “No… That’s not possible.”
Liu Jin’s brain scrambles to find a way to explain things.
Then he remembers he doesn’t have to.
“It is,” he says, and his words are the words of a Divinity. There is no room for discussion or doubt.
There is only undeniable certainty.
“Little Brother…” Xiao Nan repeats. His face softens. His Qi calms down. A tear shines in his eyes. “How… It’s been so long…”
Liu Jin’s heart bleeds at the sight. Elder Brother Xiao Nan should not look so miserable, so wounded, so lost. Xiao Nan was always smiling, always exuding such effortless confidence it was almost contagious. When one was with him, it was impossible not to feel safe.
“I thought you were dead…” Liu Jin says. “I thought…”
Liu Jin trails off. The sadness welling up in his eyes dries up as a roaring bonfire of anger overtakes it. Thunder howls in the distance as Liu Jin turns his eyes to the one behind it all.
“You!” He hisses. His eyes pin Bright Sword in place. His presence holds him between his claws. He’s so frail. One squeeze is all it would take. “What did you do?”
All this time…
All this time!
Ever since the fall of Eastern Port City… All those times he talked with Bright Sword… Xiao Nan had been in his pocket the entire time!
“I cannot let you go further.”
The Wandering Wind cuts his influence. Bright Sword falls to his knees behind her.
“Move,” Liu Jin says. The weight of his words falls over the entire area, causing the Heaven Realm cultivators around them to stumble. Liu Jin grimaces as he forcefully diminishes his influence.
His words are no longer just words.
“I will not.”
“I was not asking,” Liu Jin says. He glares at the Wandering Wind with lightning in his eyes. Their auras crash against each other.
“Naturally,” the Wandering Wind says, “and I was not merely just replying. You know this.”
Liu Jin wants to scream.
He could create an opening if he uses enough power. However, doing so would seriously hurt everyone around him, and the Wandering Wind knows that. Just by standing against him, she’s preventing him from reaching his goal.
“Elder Brother,” Liu Jin says to Xiao Nan. “I promise we’ll talk after this all over.”
Liu Jin does not wait for his reply. There is no time. He quickly cedes control of his body back to the Storm Dragon. Only he is qualified to fight against the Wandering Wind.
“Very well,” the Storm Dragon says. “You claimed you would not lose to me. Prove it.”
The Wandering Wind smiles as her wind envelopes them both, twisting the dimensions around them and leading them into an alternate space. It is only in places like this that beings such as they can fight freely. Otherwise, too many people would die, and too many maps would need to be redrawn.
“It will be my pleasure, Ancient One,” the Wandering Wind says.
~~~
Xiao Nan blinks several times.
He wants to say this is a dream or some sort of trick. A divinity that looks like his little brother… That’s too outlandish to be true. However, that’s just the thing. This is all too unbelievable. No one would bother orchestrating a scenario like this. Not even his own mind.
Besides…
The air against his face…the ground under his feet…the Qi around him…It all feels authentic.
This is no trick.
It’s an opportunity.
“YOU!”
Xiao Nan roars as he lays eyes on his tormentor. The power of a Renegade Realm cultivator rises around him. It is wild and violent, twisting his face with rage. So much time trapped in that damnable pearl! There are so many threats at the tip of his tongue, so many insults he has spent several nights perfecting.
It all fades away in a wave of rage.
Xiao Nan dashes with all his might towards Bright Sword. Holes appear randomly around the broken palace as he does.
Bright Sword brings his sword down.
A wall of ice blocks the attack before Xiao Nan can power through it. The unexpected interruption makes him pause, and the other cultivators immediately move to attack Bright Sword.
“I would think,” a woman who must clearly be a disciple of the Divine Frozen Place says, “that the prodigy of the Xiao Sect would know to act with greater prudence.”
“Prudence?” Xiao Nan laughs. How long has it been since he’s done that? “Try being a Renegade. Tell me how much prudence is left after you do.”
The woman inclines her veil-covered face. “Fair enough.”
“Wait...” Xiao Nan blinks when the full content of her words registers. “You know who I am?”
“I saw your match in the Crimson Cloud Tournament,” she says. “You performed well considering who your opponent was.”
A look of intense irritation crosses Xiao Nan’s face.
“Ugh!” He spits to the side. “Why does it have to be the match against Feng Zhuo?! That guy is incredibly annoying!”
“He really is,” agrees the woman. “However, as you are now, your cultivation should be higher than his.”
That gets Xiao Nan to smile. “Well, that’s one good thing to come out of this.”
“It pleases me that you have not completely lost your mind,” the woman says. “Though it annoys me to admit it, we could use your help. On a personal level, it would please me to get to know Little Shuang’s cousin.”
Xiao Nan wants to ask several questions, but he contains himself. He makes a promise to himself that there will be time for them later. He will guarantee it.
“Very well,” Xiao Nan says, reaching deep inside himself. He does his best to tune out the many feelings of the Renegade Realm and lets a single word reverberate to the core of his being.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Emptiness.
“This Xiao Nan shall assist you to the best of his abilities.”
~~~
He Bin and Nie Dan fight several miles above the clouds.
At such altitudes, oxygen is nearly non-existent, and the harsh light of the sun becomes increasingly dangerous. However, those are concerns for people much weaker than they. Breathing, food, sleep. Nie Dan and He Bin might occasionally indulge such things, but they have long grown past the need for them.
When they move, the heavens quake. The air howls as if fleeing in terror. The clouds beneath them cry as the aftershock of their attacks forces the water in the atmosphere down. They are no mere mortals who need to hide away from the elements. They are cultivators who have honed their craft for centuries.
It is the elements who need to fear them.
And yet, mighty as they are, even they pause when they sense the power of not just one but two cultivators in the Divine Realms.
“What in the world is that?” He Bin asks with a mystified look on his face. He does not expect a reply, but he receives it anyway,
“Something beyond my expectations,” Nie Dan says, his face set in a pensive frown.
“Your expectations?” He Bin laughs. “Oh, Nie Dan! If we had to list all the things that were beyond your expectations, we would never end. After all, you never once expected Murong Bang to die here, did you?”
“No,” Nie Dan admits. “I did not. However, that does not mean I regret my choice.”
“Always so stubborn,” He Bin shakes his head theatrically. “Was the idea of joining forces with me really so displeasing?”
“Is that really a question that needs to be asked?”
“Perhaps not,” He Bin says.
He strikes an instant later.
“Nevertheless!” He Bin says as he exchanges hits with Nie Dan. “I ask it!”
He Bin’s movements are elegant, almost overly so. A casual observer, assuming he could even follow the battle, might dare say there are many wasted movements in his style—too many flourishes, too many spins—as if he were an actor on stage performing for an audience.
“An alliance requires a degree of trust between both sides,” Nie Dan says. “That can never exist between us.”
Unlike He Bin, Nie Dan is overwhelmingly precise. There is a heaviness to each of his movements. It feels like he’s simultaneously slower and faster than he should be.
“And yet it can exist between you and Murong Bang?!” He Bin laughs incredulously. “Do not insult my intelligence. The man is a savage!”
He Bin brings his hand up and shoots lightning at Nie Dan.
It is flat.
Unlike the fierce bolts used by most lightning manipulators, He Bin’s lightning does not have a jagged edge. Instead, it looks like a straight line drawn on a page.
Punch
“Correct,” Nie Dan says as he punches the line of lightning away. “I could trust Murong Bang to be a savage. I could also trust him to recognize the Black Dragon’s son.”
He Bin laughs some more but stops when he realizes Nie Dan’s face has not lost one bit of its granite-like stoicism.
“Do you really expect me to believe that child is the Black Dragon’s son?” He Bin asks. “I can accept that he’s of Qing blood. That he undid the Grand Storm is proof enough. However, the Black Dragon is gone. He wouldn’t send his son to deal with Emperors.”
The look on Nie Dan’s face changes so minutely that most people would not pick up on it. He Bin is not one of those people. He can see the emotion on Nie Dan’s face with complete clarity.
Disappointment.
“This is why I could never work with you,” Nie Dan says. “A man who knew and served the Black Dragon should have been able to recognize his blood on sight. Even if he’s just a child in the Earth Realm, you should have seen his face and doubted your eyes. You should have felt his presence and believed your senses to be lying. You did not. You dismissed him as a mere Qing, no different from your puppet emperor. You could not see the Black Dragon in him because you never saw the Black Dragon.”
He Bin’s face goes flat.
“Nie Dan,” he says slowly. “I am warning you. Be very careful with what you are about to say. There are some things I will not forgive.”
Speak
“I do not care about what you will not forgive,” Nie Dan says. “I have thought of this much. Then and now. Murong Bang was an instrument of the Black Dragon’s will. That was all he aspired to be. However, you were not. Murong Bang is a creature of violence. You are a man of systems.”
He Bin frowns. The air vibrates with energy.
“To you, the Black Dragon was simply another part of a system. That is why you could never give him your full loyalty,” Nie Dan says coldly. “Your betrayal-”
“ENOUGH!”
The sight of He Bin’s face overwhelmed by rage would have shocked all members of the Imperial Court. However, even that fury is eclipsed by the roar of his lightning.
[Nine Paths of Law]
Nine lines of lightning separate into eighty-one, which separate into seven hundred and twenty-nine. The process repeats itself until there are exactly three hundred and eighty-seven million, four hundred and twenty thousand, four hundred and eighty-nine bolts rushing toward Nie Dan. The brilliance of the attack outshines even the sun.
At a glance, it looks like an overly flashy attack meant to overwhelm the opponent with raw power. However, there is always more than that when dealing with He Bin.
Left
Block
Counter
The bolts must be dealt with a certain way. Some must be dodged. Some must be blocked. Some must be countered. Doing it in the wrong order leads to negative outcomes, and doing things the proper way leads one to start falling under the influence of He Bin’s Dao. It is just like him to create a scenario where he’ll benefit no matter what.
“I did not betray him! I could never betray him!” He Bin shouts as Nie Dan fights his way through each individual line of lightning. “Do you think I could have ever done anything to hurt that man? It would be easier to stop the sun from rising! I am not the one who made him abandon us! He chose that! The Empire was ours! His could have been a golden rule that would have lasted over a thousand years! All of that would have been ours if only… if only…”
Attack
Nie Dan breaks through. The lightning around his body is barely visible, yet its effects are felt. He Bin dodges his strike, but people for hundreds of miles hear the roar of thunder.
“If only he’d have acted as you wanted,” Nie Dan finishes for him. “Is that it?”
“No!” He Bin hisses. Countless lines of lightning emerge from him, forcing Nie Dan to back away. “It is not about what I want, Nie Dan! It never was! It is about what the situation calls for!”
“Is that why you kept stoking the negative sentiment against the Black Dragon? The situation called for it?!”
“The world is older than us, Nie Dan,” He Bin says as the lines keep spreading and drawing shapes across the sky for miles. “There are rules in place that must be understood: Systems. You look down on me for recognizing that simple truth, but what is cultivation but another system? Relationships. Society. Hierarchy. Systems exist within all of those, and those who understand the systems are the ones who advance.”
The lightning glows. It cuts. The lines drawn in the sky are suddenly divisions between space itself. There is no going over or under them. There are only paths that must be followed with absolute precision if he wants to cross the many dimensions that now separate him from He Bin.
“And yet, all that understanding has made you nothing but a follower,” Nie Dan says as he readies his Qi. “Had you wanted, you could have killed the Emperor during the civil war. Instead, you played the part of a dutiful follower and convinced him to keep the Storm Dragon manifested at all times. People call us the Three Heavenly Generals of the Storm Dragon Empire, but that is nothing more than a manufactured state of affairs. You created this farce, He Bin.”
“With the Black Dragon gone, another system needed to be implemented. One that would be accepted by all. The Three Heavenly Generals who fight for dominance of the land. It makes for a good tale, does it not? This suited everyone’s purposes.”
“Who is everyone? Those from the other side?”
He Bin does not answer. There is no need to. Nie Dan shakes his head.
“This is your problem,” Nie Dan says. “You believe in systems, and because of that, you will inevitably be absorbed into the bigger system regardless of your loyalties.”
“A man who believes in the chain of command so thoroughly has no right to cast any stones at me,” He Bin counters. “The truth is our paths are not dissimilar. We both understand the necessity of hierarchy.”
“When I submitted to the Black Dragon, I did so wholeheartedly,” Nie Dan replies. “There will be none other. Even if there are stronger. Even if there are wiser. This Nie Dan shall follow the Black Dragon to his dying day.”
“Fanaticism! You speak to me of fanaticism!” He Bin shakes his head angrily. “Now, I understand why you chose Murong Bang over me. The Black Dragon is gone, Nie Dan.”
“He is,” Nie Dan says. “Nevertheless, my loyalty remains untouched.”
Advance
He does. Unlike He Bin, whose Dao lets him create systems around himself, Nie Dan’s power works in a far less grandiose manner. He commands. If he has an army, he will command an army. However, this is a one-on-one fight. All he has is himself. Thus, Nie Dan commands himself.
Underwhelming as it sounds, Nie Dan has learned the value in it. Every action, no matter how small, has weight, and actions done in accordance with one’s Dao are heavier than most. If he can make his every action be in accordance with his Dao, then all the better.
Break
Nie Dan’s fist shatters the first of the dimensional walls separating him from He Bin.
“You fool!” He Bin laughs. “You know what will happen if you do that!”
He Bin has not even finished speaking when two deep cuts appear on Nie Dan’s face, the penalty for going against the system.
Break
Two walls shatter this time. The penalty is greater. Wounds appear on Nie Dan’s side. Just like the ones on his face, they do not heal.
“You understand, don’t you?” He Bin’s hands move with lightning quickness. More walls are weaved. More rules are placed. The more Nie Dan breaks, the easier it is for He Bin’s system to grow in complexity. “Our paths exist in a relationship of superiority.”
Break
“You can only act in the world I create!”
Break
“The more you do, the more you fall under its influence!”
Break
Anger flashes in He Bin’s face as Nie Dan keeps ignoring him, doing nothing other than methodically forcing his way through.
“Fine! Try until you break! Grind your body to dust!”
Break
Break
Break
With every blow, Nie Dan feels He Bin’s Dao pressing down on him, trying to force his head to bow, but Nie Dan’s head will only bow for one person.
Break
Sweat shines on He Bin’s face. In the space between seconds, he waves over a thousand realms. In the space between seconds, Nie Dan breaks through them all. More injuries appear in Nie Dan’s body. Cuts, bruises, broken bones, and burns. However, he does not stop, forcing He Bin to use more power. He creates more realms and rules, each one more complex than the last.
Break
Nie Dan breaks through them still. With every breath, the distance between them shortens. Shock colors He Bin’s face before giving way to rage. The barriers are dismissed when Nie Dan finally reaches him. Instead, the space around them becomes He Bin’s dominion. Nie Dan’s Dao rises at the same time.
Die
Reality crashes against Reality. Dao clashes against Dao. Two differing views fight for dominance, unmaking and remaking the world around them a thousand times over.
Only one can prevail.
He Bin stares at him in complete incomprehension.
Even as he falls and his body is rendered to nothing, it seems he still can’t believe it. The idea that he could have lost this battle is one he never considered.
“You fool,” Nie Dan says, breathing heavily. “You betrayed yourself the day you betrayed the Black Dragon. You lost any chance to win this fight back then.”
~~~