Amidst the scarred battlefield in the middle of the valley, a torrential rain pours from the Heavens, drenching everything in its path. Chunhua clutches the gash on his shoulder as he stares at the man before him. Blood trickles from his wound, painting his pink sleeves darker as it streams towards the hilt of his sword. His fingers tremble slightly, refusing to let go of his family heirloom. With each heartbeat, the stream of blood pushes further and further down the edge of his blade.
Behind him, Xi and Maoyi lean against the elm tree, one on each side of the crevice. Their violently trembling fingers, unable to hold on any longer, finally release the handle of their blades. Without any strength left, the girls drop onto the ground just like their shattered blades. Unwanted tears stream from their eyes as they try to endure the excruciating pain coursing throughout their bodies. With the tips of seven blades pointing at them from all directions, the girls reach for one another, locking hands above Wei and the little girl in the crevice. Though their bodies could no longer hold on, their resolve remains unbroken.
“Enough is enough, brat.” Instructor Hue’s serious tone overtakes his previous crazed laughter. Seeing Chunhua’s unrelenting tenacity in the face of death, he tries to calm his anger so as to not accidentally kill anyone. “Hand me your blade and come quietly. Your friends are already at my mercy. Just accept your role in all of this, and I'll give you my word that no harm will befall you or your friends.”
“How can we trust you?” Chunhua, unconvinced by the empty promise, continues to glare at Instructor Hue. “You’ve been with the Academy since before I joined. I even attended your training sessions. So why?! Why did you turn your back on the Academy?!”
"Brat, I never turned on the Academy." Instructor Hue chuckles at Chunhua’s naivety. "You understand, right?"
"That means…" Chunhua's eyes grow wide at the sudden revelation. "But how? The procedures- they’re too strict. How did you even get enough recommendations? Unless…"
"This group is full of clever ones! GIEHAHAHAHA!" Instructor Hue explodes in laughter. He coats his palm in a layer of aura, stretching out like a blade, as he steps towards Chunhua. "Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do, sly brat. Enough with the stalling, nobody is coming to save you. Your sword or their limbs. Choose."
Reading the command within Instructor Hue’s words, two of the masked men set the edge of their blades onto Xi and Maoyi’s shoulders. Another leans over and lifts Wei off the ground by the collar, also setting his blade on the boy’s shoulder. With Wei’s body dangling in the air and no longer blocking the view of the crevice, one of the men takes note of the child sleeping within the small opening beneath the tree.
“Found the last one!” He calls out towards Instructor Hue as he yanks the little girl into the air by the back of her dress.
“A nameless brat.” Recalling the humiliation that started with the little girl, Instructor Hue suddenly feels his blood boil. “Kill her.”
“WAIT!” Chunhua screams upon hearing the command. Whipping his head around, he watches as the masked man lifts his blade above the little girl’s neck. “HER FATHER IS A GRANDMASTER!”
“Stop.” The blade comes to a sudden halt with Instructor Hue’s simple command. “Little brat, repeat what you just said. I’ll take a limb if this is another one of your schemes.”
"Her father! Grandmaster Yu! Sworn brother of my grandfather! You need valuable hostages, right?! She’s just as valuable as any of us!"
"Grandmaster Yu… Sworn brother of Grandmaster Ren… Is that so?" Instructor Hue rubs his chin as he tries to find holes in Chunhua’s convincing words. After a short moment, he suddenly smirks. "Brat, help me understand something… Who is this Grandmaster Yu? And why haven’t I heard of him?"
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
"He’s a Guest Elder of our Mountain Blossom Sect!" Chunhua exclaims with a firm and steady voice. "He holds incredible sway within our sect and within the royal Qin court!"
"His full name?"
"Grandmaster Yu Tianyu." Feeling the effect of his lies, Chunhua pushes it further by gazing at his blade with a perplexed expression. "Out of a hundred duels… He bested my grandfather every single time."
"GIEHAHAHAHA! Is that so?! Grandmaster Ren, losing a hundred duels to an unknown Grandmaster. Your imagination is something else, sly brat!" The instructor’s crazed laughter fills the air once more. As the laughter dies out, he refocuses his glare at Chunhua and smirks. "Kill her."
Shit!
"STOP!” Realizing that Instructor Hue is onto him, Chunhua frantically lifts his blade to his neck and draws blood. “HARM HER AND YOU LOSE ME!"
Seeing the thin cut on Chunhua’s neck, Instructor Hue raises his hand to signal his men to stop. He rubs his chin once again, confused by the students’ efforts to protect the little girl. Once at the Resting Crane Tree lobby with the dead brat, hiding her from the battle, and now, even a descendant of the renowned Swordsman of Spring is willing to put his life on the line as collateral damage.
“I find it strange that the sworn brothers are members of two different generations…” The words cause Chunhua to shiver with a cold chill. Seeing the boy push the blade further into his neck, Instructor Hue chuckles. “But I suppose your words must hold some truth if you’re willing to go this far to protect her. Hand me the blade and we’ll end this here. I promise no more harm will befall you and your four frie-”
Instructor Hue cuts himself off upon hearing his own words. His eyes grow wide as his gaze darts past Chunhua, landing on the students beneath the elm tree.
Four? Not counting the Blossom Mountain brat… Not counting the one I killed… there should b-
A reverberating explosion echoes across the valley, snapping Instructor Hue out of his confusion. Recognizing the voice, he whips his head around towards the source of the thunderous clap. The veins on his forehead and neck bulge upon seeing two blurry figures beyond the curtain of rain and mud.
“AGAIN!”
Another thunderous explosion rings across the valley before he could fully register what was happening.
“AGAIN!”
The air ripples again as a third shockwave explodes from the direction of the two figures, sending more mud and water flying in all directions. Ignoring the mud obstructing his vision, Instructor Hue lifts his heels and digs his toes into the dirt.
“AGAIN!”
Instructor Hue explodes forth at the same moment as the fourth explosion, leaving behind a large crater beneath his feet. The shockwaves from each explosion collide at the midpoint, creating another thunderous clap as it sunders the ground beneath it. Instructor Hue hastily coats himself in a layer of aura just before ripping through the tumultuous space where two shockwaves collided.
Dan coughs up blood upon receiving Anning’s fourth strike. Despite having blocked off his pain receptors in preparation, he could still feel the damage accumulating from each successive punch. Each one caused his bones to rattle violently, sending a numb, yet intense, stinging sensation coursing throughout his body.
Clenching his jaw and refusing to surrender to his physical limits, Dan tightens his grip around his wrist, guiding his other hand towards its final destination. With one hand clenched tightly into a fist, leaving the second knuckle of his middle finger slightly protruded to form a point, and the other stabilizing it by the wrist, Dan takes a deep breath. As the point arrives at the space just above Sun’s abdomen, he braces for impact.
“ANNING! AGAIN!!!”
Moving past the wall of mud and water, Instructor Hue watches in disbelief as a petite figure, eyes ablaze with a radiant azure glow, descends from the sky with two pink ribbons fluttering violently beside her. Following her trajectory with his gaze, Instructor Hue’s eyes land on a boy kneeling inside the massive crater. Upon seeing the third figure lying lifelessly at the center of the crater in front of the boy, his heart begins to race uncontrollably.
“I'LL KILL THE LITTLE BRAT!” Instructor Hue roars a desperate command as tears through the air to intercept Anning. “STOP IT OR SHE DIES!!!”