Chương 325: Truths and Lies (XI)

something weird happened. The flaming boulder that looked prime to rip everything apart and then set it on fire never quite reached Xi Zhao. He'd put his hand on the handle of the sword and was about to draw it out when the boulder just stopped, midair, and then... went up. Like, vertically up. Like it was a fucking rocket.

While everyone stared at the scene slack-jawed, including Long Tao, I finally figured out what happened--that thing transformed into a transparent sheen, halted the boulder, before transforming into a literal fist of gold and slamming it upward.

"H-how did he do that?!!"

"Who are these kids?!! Even I wouldn't have been able to defend against that!" Nobody was more confused, I imagine, than the pair fighting--the woman looked absurdly lost, and Xi Zhao was no better. Until he turned toward me. He shot me a look of 'subtle understanding', and as he did, others caught it... and the chatter changed.

"... he did it?"

"From here? That's impossible! He looks pathetic!"

"And without anyone seeing it?"

"Not even the Lord?"

"Is he a secret expert?"

"Master," Rayce spoke up, his eyes shining with pride.

"You really are amazing!"

"No, I--""I knew it! I knew you were hiding yourself!" Lao Shun said.

"Hah. To think I was almost fooled by your 'ignorant buffoon' play."

"No, listen--""Master is the best!" Okay, thank you, Xing Feng, but that's not really helpful.

"Yes, Master indeed is the best." Okay, Long Tao's voice was dripping with sarcasm, and it was clear he didn't believe for a second it was me. It was both a bit hurtful and also a relief; it was just as clear, though, that he didn't actually know what happened, just that he knew it wasn't me who did it.

"While I appreciate your concern for your disciple," a voice streamed from the upper balcony.

"Interfering is strictly forbidden." While I wholeheartedly agreed, his words also kind of pissed me off. And I don't know whether it's the fact that I've been living here for as long as I have or that I've gotten some confidence in dealing with people, but whereas I'd just let it go half a year ago, today...

"Indeed," I said.

"It is rather inspiring to see the Lord chastise his own blood for abruptly interfering with the competition she wasn't a part of. Truly worthy of applause." Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. I don't know what took over me, but I actually... applauded.

"Pfft," Long Tao swallowed a laugh and applauded, too, with Rayce and Xing Feng joining shortly before the four kids in the arena did. Even Lao Shun was peer-pressured into it, though that was where it ended. It was clear that nobody else was willing to even entertain the idea of pissing off the city lord, and I hardly blamed them.

"Fair, I suppose," the man said after a brief, but rather heavy, silence in which everyone likely assumed I was a dead man walking.

"But... the young ought to learn this world has never been nor will it ever be fair. Look around--all others understand the reign, but... ignorance is not a sin. I will give you a chance of repentance." Why do I have this sneaking suspicion it'll be something insane that no person would ever actually do?

"Choose one of your disciples and execute them on the spot." Yup. But, as aggravating as it is, it's also liberating; yes, please, be draconically psychopathic, that's what I expect of people who can't seem to die.

"Just one? Ah, how gracious," I said with a faint chuckle.

"You're right. Ignorance isn't a sin. So, allow me to extend the same grace: cripple your daughter for all the world to see, and I'll execute one of my disciples." There was a brief, collective gasp before the entire world seemed to converge to singular silence. The words just trickled past my tongue, wholly unfiltered, and I was beginning to kind of regret them... but, yeah, there wasn't a way to undo them, so might as well firmly stand behind them.

Even Lao Shun side-eyed me as though asking, 'Just what gives you courage?' I just wonder whether he would laugh if I said 'Long Tao is calm' or whether he would nod in silent acknowledgement. Everyone was staring at me, and though it felt like I was being stabbed by thousands of tiny needles, I endured, my expression (hopefully) unchanging, not even looking up at the balcony.

"Pfft, ha ha ha," the one to break the silence was actually the man's daughter, Lu Yawen, as she suddenly burst into laughter. She laughed so hard, in fact, that she started coughing, which I didn't think was physically possible for cultivators to do.

"You have to admit, Dad, either he is the most courageous man who has ever lived or the stupidest. I'll lean toward the stupidest. What about you?"

"Indeed," the curtain was pulled back rather suddenly as a figure stepped off the terrace above, casually floating forward as the wind fluttered his robes.

"Being ignorant once is not a sin; but twice is a choice. I do not know where your arrogance comes from, but today, it shall be your undoing. Repent." He attacked--I knew as much because I was expecting it, tortoise in hand, but before I could actually deflect it, a shadow appeared in front of me. Long Tao cut once, swiftly and precisely, splitting the invisible mote of Qi that crossed the distance of around two hundred yards in literally less than the blink of an eye.

One mote became two, and they trailed off just beside my ears, digging through the stands and destroying them. If anyone had been sitting behind us, they would have died. The aftereffect came immediately, with the blowback of the wind from behind pushing Xing Feng off his seat and forcing me to grab and hold him. Screams erupted as those within even fifty feet of us were forced to get up and leave, fleeing as though they grew wings.

"Oh?" the Sage exclaimed softly, seeming a bit surprised--I mean, likely everyone was besides the kids and I. No, even Rayce and Wan Lan seemed slightly shocked, with Lao Shun being even more so. A child, after all, just parried a city lord's attack.

"Master," Long Tao said.

"This will be a tough fight."

"Then we just need to be tougher." I slowly stood up, handing Xing Feng to Lao Shun.

"Keep him safe."

"E-eh? What? You... you're really going to fight him?!"

"Eh, not like we have a choice," I shrugged, though most of it was simply posturing.

"Most of the heroic battles are always a result of one side not having a choice," Long Tao said with a faint chuckle.

"Playtime is over." Just as soon as the words faded, I felt my heart stop; Qi converged into a tidal wave so massive that it blanketed the sky. Xi Zhao drew his sword and unleashed an attack so powerful that I was certain deflecting it with a tortoise would level everything within a thousand miles. But it wasn't aimed toward me (though, isn't that kind of a tactic we could use? hm?), and not even toward the city lord.

But the woman who didn't even have the time to react before she was cleaved in half, blood spraying out like a broken street pipe as the two parts fell discordantly, composing a song of horror.