Chương 29: Exact Differences

Ren moved like a phantom, every step twisting the mist around him. Tens of wolf-clouds flew on his tail, fated to never reach as he circled around his prey— the Witch. Ruolan's usually pristine robes were in tatters, smeared with red streaks. She frantically changed positions, waved her staff whenever she found a chance to command the clouds, but her main focus wasn't on attacking. No. It was surviving the last minute.

"Last ten seconds!" Baozhai shouted, amusement written all over her voice. She is enjoying this, Ren smiled, then suddenly stepped aside and charged right onto the poor girl frozen with excitement. His knuckles found a soft, comfortable rest stop on her stomach as she doubled over and let out a sharp hiss. She stumbled back, muttering curses under her breath, but didn't fall. Or maybe forced herself not to. The embarrassment on her face gave enough clues to grasp that fact.

"Do not relax before making sure you are safe," he muttered, reaching to support her shoulder.

"Or those last seconds might cost your life."

"Senior Brother…" Ruolan muttered through her gritted teeth, her face no different than a crimson painting. She inhaled sharply, as if to gather the strength to utter her next words.

"You're hell of a ruthless bastard, you know, ugh."

"I heard worse than them, don't worry." Ren smiled widely. Unlike the start, where he gave her a chance, the next few minutes were pure abuse of a powerless child. And he had made sure to enjoy every second of it.

"But you're not that bad. As expected of our Witch, you only made forty-six mistakes, including everything, which is great for your first time. Not many can stay this rational after getting crushed in the first bout."

"Is that a compliment?" She gave him a deadpan glare, then rolled her eyes.

"If so, it was terrible."

"Unfortunately, it was," Baozhai said, appearing beside them. She took her shoulder from Ren and also waved a hand to dissipate the mist.

"He never gets better at that part. Still, you did great for your first time; you can be proud." She then paused for a beat, glaring at him with suspicion, "Though he went surprisingly easy on you."

"T-that was going easy?!" Wenhai jumped right behind her, his eyes widened in terror. Liuxue too approached and dived under Ruolan's other shoulder, whispering something to her. That caused a glimmer to flash in the Witch's eyes.

"Heh, women. You don't appreciate." Ren shrugged, taking out two bottles from his ring. He offered one to Ruolan.

"You can't expect me to go that hard at the start, Baozhai. Just wait for their collective time." He chugged the cold water.

"Phew, this turned out to be way more fun than I expected. Now, who is next?"

"Me! Me!" The puppy didn't disappoint and rose to the occasion, eyes burning with excitement.

"Let me go first, Liuxue! Maybe I can tire him enough for you to win, hehe."

"I'm gonna kill you if you make more mistakes than me, idiot," Ruolan threw a vicious threat, or at least tried. However, with how tired she sounded, nobody could take her seriously.

"Don't worry, I'm—""Shoo, off you go. Just let me rest." Ren and Baozhai shared a short glance, both of them smiling as if they already knew the result. Liuxue took Ruolan to the side and helped her to sit on the ground, even though she tried to refuse her help. Only then did Baozhai wave her hand.

"Fight!"

"Here I come, Senior Brother!" Wenhai let out a low growl, and lightning erupted out of his body. The tiny sparks around him, and just as they touched the ground, he— BOOM! …Missed his target completely and crashed right onto Baozhai. Fortunately, she caught his head, an annoyed frown surfacing.

"Ah, sorry, Senior Sister." He gave a sheepish smile, his head trapped in her vice-like grip.

"Um… can you let go, you're crushing my head… ugh, pretty please?" Baozhai let out a deep sigh, causing Ren to burst into laughter. She then threw the boy back to his original place. He landed gently despite flying at lightning speed. Ren stifled his laugh as he felt a piercing gaze on his back.

"First mistake, don't go crashing on random— hehe— people."

"It counts…?" Wenhai scratched his head, inhaled deeply, and smacked his own face with both hands.

"Snap out of it, and just focus. I'm speed. I'm lightning. Huuh, I'm…" His eyes opened wide as he erupted into red sparks.

"Light— uwaah!"

"And off you go," Ren said, taking back his stretched leg and watching him fly. He had already wasted more than half of the first minute, and letting the boy determine the pacing would obviously not work.

"Same mistake, no enemy would give you time for flashy techniques. And do not ever try to slap yourself in front of an enemy, as that would let them learn you're in no position to attack. Now, use your blue lightning. I'll do the attacking." He didn't give time to get ready. While Wenhai was trying to crawl back to his feet, he gave another kick, positioning it for easy blocking. Yet Wenhai just stared at it like a deer caught in the headlights. Looks like I made a mistake in raising my expectations after Ruolan…

Wenhai flew like a ball for a while as Ren didn't show mercy. He didn't even let him land, not until the puppy remembered his blue lightning. Only then did Ren slow down a little, testing his guard and reflexes. His merciless shouts echoed in the backyard, pointing out every little mistake.

"Don't lower your guard; always keep your hands close to fatal positions. Face, heart, chest. And for your lower body, be ready to dodge," he said, and throw a low kick. Blue sparks rained down on his leg as Wenhai jumped.

"That's it, let yourself flow with your lightning's rhythm. It's gonna lead you better than any teacher." And the boy did. He settled into a fixed— although shaky— rhythm. Block, block, sidestep, and a feint to throw off Ren's focus. He stopped going for the big moves, instead contending with small but minute motions. He also tried to add kicks rashly, but seeing he couldn't find an opportunity no matter what, he went back to defense.

Three minutes passed in this mechanical sense, and just as Baozhai shouted for the last minute mark—"What are you doing?!" Ren suddenly roared as the blue lightning heated into the red one. Before he could move, Wenhai stumbled but still managed to throw a hasty punch covered in red lightning. Ren easily slapped it aside and caught the collapsing boy.

"Are you an idiot!?" His voice came out harsher than he intended, without even realizing it.

"Why the hell would you go on the offensive when you're already on the losing side? Especially when you haven't mastered switching between forms yet?" His hand followed the clashing blue and red lightning lines over Wenhai's body as the boy vomited dark blood. Ren tapped into the heated parts, crushing them into fizzling sparks. Baozhai appeared beside him and sent a sliver of lightning energy into his body.

"How is it?"

"Just a stupid mistake," she answered, though she started frowning as soon as she looked at Ren.

"Patching in a few places would be enough to get him going." Ren let out the breath he held without noticing.

"Didn't you teach him he can't switch between them so recklessly? This might ruin his meridians if it happens a lot."

"Of course I did," Ren started, yet paused when Baozhai held his arm. She pointed at Wenhai's pitiful eyes and subtly shook her head. Looking down, he noticed something strange in the boy's gaze. Not shame nor disappointment, no. It was… Fear? But why? He exhaled deeply. He also noticed another subtle emotion. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Expectation.

"You made," he said, struggling to keep his tone light, "a total of seventy-eight mistakes, and this one big mistake that earned you one day of training under Baozhai. Congratulations, Ruolan is gonna kill you." Wenhai quietly let out a chuckle, which nearly turned into a coughing fit. Still, he managed a smile before fainting.

"Great… I passed her… and tire you more than she could imagine…" Ruolan clicked her tongue, while Liuxue's eyes narrowed. … After sending Wenhai to Madam Zhang's care, Ren returned to the backyard. He found Ruolan and Liuxue nodding from time to time as they listened to Baozhai. However, they went silent as soon as they noticed him.

"What?" Ren showed a perfect smile, raising one brow.

"Gossiping behind my back?" Baozhai responded with a smirk and gently nudged Liuxue forward.

"Wrap it up, will you? I've spent enough time here as it is. My disciples must be wondering where I am."

"Impatient, are we?" He stretched his neck with a faint pop, rolled his shoulder, and walked to the center directly. His smile faded, replaced by something far calmer— measured. Steady. He raised his hand and beckoned Iceberg with two fingers.

"Then let's not waste time. Show me what you got." She listened, perhaps with pleasure. He still had problems discerning her emotions. A lightning-fast stab grazed past his hair. Ren tilted his head slightly, just enough to cause her to miss. The exact distance between the dagger and his head was maybe less than a centimeter, yet he didn't even blink as he knew it was the limit of her body's reach. He had lived by the edge of a sword, and he could continue to live within it just as the same.

"First mistake," he muttered, flicking her forehead lightly in the blink of an eye.

"Always leave a way out for yourself. Or you die." Clenching her teeth, Liuxue stepped back and started to circle him like a wolf, her gaze following his every movement, her steps light. She knew she couldn't take him on straight, and her careful steps backed this fact. So Ren didn't move a muscle. He stood in the same place, relaxed. He even left countless openings, some real and more fake. Yet she never wavered. Her hold around her mind remained hard as steel. The first minute passed. There.

Ren shifted his foot half a step to the side when she was about to slip toward his blind spot. And the attack came, one dagger flying to his nape. But she didn't stop there; with a wide step in the opposite direction, she lunged forward, the other dagger aimed straight at him.

"Second mistake," Ren sighed, his hand catching the dagger out of the air and swinging at her. Metal hit metal, sparks flying.

"If you see the same opening two times but don't attack, you will fall for the consecutive third one. Remember, hesitation is defeat." He started a violent dance with the dagger at hand, pushing her back with every attack. She let out a light grunt, hesitation flickering in her gaze at the perfect timing of his parries— he gave her too little time to counter. No opening and no hesitation whatsoever. With things going this way, she must have realized she would lose as her stance changed.

The moment she tried to disengage—"Tch, wrong move." She ate a brutal kick in the stomach.

"If you want to escape, you'll either have to force me with a bold move or predict every strike I'll make. But if you focus only on my weapon… you're bound to get kicked like that." He stopped pushing her. Her inexperience in this type of situation turned out worse than he expected.

"You're too used to short fights between mortals where who lives and who dies is determined in a few moves. Same thing won't work on cultivators among the same power levels." He threw her dagger back. Her hand snapped to it like lightning. She then lowered her stance like a viper getting ready to lunge, her knees nearly touching the ground.

"If you want to win," Ren stared at her deeply.

"Forget about everything you learned for a moment. Just trust your instincts, and come to me with all you've got. Dance, Iceberg, dance!" Clapping his hands, he opened his legs in shoulder length, bent his knees a little, and raised both hands to the air. The famous Bruce Lee pose, activated! His lips curled up. He beckoned with his hand. Taunting didn't work on Liuxue. Instead, she closed her eyes just for a beat and opened them. At the same time, her clenched teeth, her strained muscles, even her gaze…

relaxed somewhat.

"Here I come, Senior Brother," she said, inhaling a deep breath. Then she danced. A deadly, precise rhythm— no trace of grace, yet a dance all the same.

"Yes, this is what I've been talking about," Ren whispered quietly, his hands a blur of motion. His feet remained rooted, his hands following her wrists like a dog would do to its owner. Ren used the minimal force to redirect her rain, to let her notice the angles harder to stop. To give her a flow unique to her. Liuxue absorbed all like a sponge. She started involving feints, sudden angle changes, and last but not least— footwork. Her light steps turned erratic, like she was skating on ice.

Her every next move became more unpredictable, yet her breathing remained steady, almost meditative. However, it only took a moment for Ren to notice the stiffness she had. It was hidden well, so well that he wasn't aware of it until now. But when she let go of her worries, when she stopped being a one-hit wonder… They aren't calculated, no. No matter how much she changed the angles, the feints, or her footwork, the attacks turned out the same. Mechanic, even.

Lift hand, strain shoulder till the dagger looks half-bent, and stab. If missed, cleave with the other, take one step to the side, and stomp for an elevated hit. Always target the throat. Ren exhaled. He reached toward her shoulder in an opening between her third and fourth strike— when she sharply inhaled for the next attack. He pushed her gently. She stumbled, her rhythm completely thrown off. Her face was no different than a blank canvas. Empty. As if someone had wiped her expression clean with a single stroke.

"How many times have you swung your daggers like this?" he asked.

"Enough times to engrave them into my bones," she answered, not with the cold confidence she carried. No. For the first time, it came out… timidly. Ren nodded his head lightly, rubbing his chin. Different ways to change this habit of hers came to his mind, but he ruled them out one by one because of one simple fact. They aren't that deadly to rewrite habits that became survival instincts. He gave her a heavy glance, a notion defining itself clearly in his mind. I have to force them out and crush them to replace.

A deep sigh escaped, out of control.

"Don't worry, it's not your fault," Ren muttered, patting her head reassuringly.

"We can fix it, but it won't be without pain. Can you endure it?" She stared at him for a second, maybe with doubt or maybe with gratitude. Still hard to discern. However, she nodded.

"Baozhai," he called, his half-armor appearing at the same time.

"Better stay sharp. I might need it." Baozhai lifted a brow, her lower lip twitching for a second. Yet she nodded in the end and chose to step closer. Ren retreated a little, rolled his shoulder back, right arm stretching across his chest in a tight pull— slow and deliberate. His brow furrowed slightly. He felt the armor's yearning for blood surging up. Liuxue stood still, her breathing once again turned even. Ren watched her in silence. The thing he suppressed since merging with this body…

he felt it stirring deeply. Seems like there's no escape. Another sigh escaped as he felt repulsed by how sickly its firm pull latched under his skin. And I even thought I wouldn't need it for a long time. Once again, he stood at a crossroads— just like the moment he summoned his armor at the Council. Hope I'm not gonna regret it. He closed his eyes and let it surface.

"Girl, focus," he muttered, voice devoid of emotion.

"This is gonna hurt." And when he opened them again— They carried a hint of crimson. Killing intent! Then he moved. A blur. She reacted, eyes flashing, blades shooting out to intercept. They missed. Her eyes widened, but it was already too late. The armored fist struck her side like a hammer. Liuxue spun midair, the wind knocked from her lungs in sharp, short coughs. Her body caught itself before hitting the ground. Yet she didn't groan. Her eyes only got sharper. Ren came again.

His feet never touched the ground for more than a second, his huge build towering over her like a divine pillar. Armored fist clashed against the black daggers, time and time again, sparks flying. She barely parried. But the real danger appeared bare. He didn't even give her time to see. A lightning-like punch flew, scattering the sparks, and grazed past her nose just as she tried to dive lower. She reeled, but couldn't escape as her footing collapsed under a sudden sweep.

Forced to a corner, she rolled away from the stomp coming her way and lunged again, using a quick succession of strikes— throat, throat, and again throat. Her steps turned rigid again. Familiar. She swung exactly as before. Lift hand, strain shoulder, stab— A crimson wave erupted. She gulped audibly, frozen when his hand caught her wrist and bent it backward. A sharp, unsettling crack split the air. Her dagger fell. She went for the second. Ren didn't give a damn. He kicked her ankle. Another fist struck her gut.

She gagged, this time. Still, she stomped and threw a double kick at his chest, creating a chance to retreat. The crimson wave erupted once again, causing her to tremble like a small boat in a stormy sea. She didn't retreat. Instead, her eyes started to turn crimson— similar to his. She roared. A savage, silent growl tore from her throat as she launched again. Her wrist limp, blood dripping from her lip, yet none of it stopped her.

Ren's eyes narrowed into a slit, the crimson light that flowed out as if piercing through her mind's defenses. Her blade carved out a wild arc, aimed at his throat. He slapped it aside, another punch nearly knocking her. Still, she bit her lower lip and twisted mid-motion, and drove the hilt toward his eye.

"Wrong," he muttered, dodging by a hair.

"You're not even seeing anymore." Another swing came— reckless. Brutal. With zero control. It carried weight, a desperation blazing, but no balance. She wasn't fighting to win. To survive. He should've realized it sooner. Fucking hell, I know that look. His heel met her knee, forcing her weight to shift. She stumbled but didn't fall. Her dagger hissed sideways. Missed again. A flash of pain flickered in her eyes— refusal. Ren's jaw clenched.

"That desperation, that will," he said, catching her arm, then her collar, "isn't for living." He lifted her off the ground, eyes burning. However, she refused to break eye contact.

"It's for killing the other first." The madness finally showed its edge, a searing fire eating away every emotion deep in her gaze. The always-present coldness that covered her being cowered in front of it.

"That, Iceberg," he uttered, voice dropped, feeling a similar tug coming deep.

"Will kill you one day if you don't learn how to rein it." He gently pushed her back. She stumbled, her eyes clearing for a second as confusion swept everything aside. Her mouth opened, but no word came out.

"But if you can manage to tame it," Ren just continued, subtly gesturing to Baozhai.

"It'll turn out to be your strongest weapon." And then, he threw the punch. No fanfare, no theatrics. Covered in armor and crimson light, just raw, blunt— Death. A drop of darkness had slipped silently into his pupils, washed in crimson. The air twisted under his punch. Sound broke. Her wide eyes couldn't even grasp it. Lightning cracked. A flash of gold light exploded between them. Baozhai's palm caught his wrist, the entire backyard trembling under the clash.

Sparks crawled down her arm, her expression twisting into shock. Ren's arm stopped mid-way. Still shaking with pressure. Liuxue froze. Then trembled. Her knees buckled as the pressure vanished, and she collapsed in place. Her mouth hung open, yet no sound came. She gulped, and only then came breath. Yet even that was shaky, shallow. Ren didn't move. His intense gaze scurried every little emotion passing through her mask and surfacing. He felt a hand hold his shoulder and gently shake him.

He turned slowly and saw the reflection of someone in Baozhai's gaze. Is that… me? The fire faded.