Chương 104: Flames of Honor

With the journey now set toward home, our awaited oasis, the land finally opened. The first true breath of freedom came after the village smoke fell behind us. Rolling hills spread out in plenty of colors: dull gold grass, dark pine belts, and long scars of grey gravel that cut through the valleys like old wounds. The sky grew wider to the eyes, but not in a kind way. Weak sunlight slid across the stones, making the dust look almost clean.

Wind moved through distant pines, carrying a dry, resin-sweet smell that held nothing of the Grounds in it. There was no screaming canopy. There was no tea-leaf bitterness mixed with blood. There was only earth, wood, and the slow promise of a road that might actually end. It still did not feel like peace has reached our ears. It felt like a pause the world had not decided to honor yet. We repaired the singular carriage over days as much as we could.

The cart creaked under the weight of our still-heavy wounded and the freshly bought supplies for the long journey ahead. Our funds were now dangerously low, and we were still far from Zhenhai. We needed to prepare ourselves to take time on the road and be ready for the worst. This journey had to be handled with the same measured steps as the Proving Grounds, even when our asses jarred against the rugged pain inside the carriage. The gravel path stretched ahead like a scarred vein through the hills.

Small stones shifted under the wheels and our boots, sending up faint clouds of dust that caught in the weak sunlight. The air smelled of dry earth and distant pine. A far cry from the suffocating oppression of the Proving Grounds. Yet the weight of loss still clung to every step as we talked and shared our new goals. I decided to take on the primary role of defender and walked beside the carriage, changing places every so often with the others.

This was not only as a self-imposed punishment for losing too many comrades on this harsh path, but also because my bosom was starting to burn while sitting on the carriage, and I no longer wanted to be on it. It reminded me too much of the days of my own captivity back then. My pale skin was still marked by half-healed cuts from the Rift and the battles that followed, while my dark red, spiked hair moved slightly in the breeze. Zhuofing sat at the front of the cart.

His powerful frame was finally regaining some of its old strength. He had taken time to properly say goodbye to his rival with Woushi. Together they had created cremation holes on the day before departure. That act helped him free his mental state at last. After a day on the active journey I walked beside him.

"Once we are home I want to fight you," I muttered during one quiet stretch, showing with my hand the line of the road we had come from.

"So that this won't happen again. For them I need to improve. I hope you agree on my open asked request." I exhaled. Zhuofing first looked at me and nodded slowly. His frame still showed signs of exhaustion despite his recovery.

"They would hate seeing us give up now... Yes. I will fight you, no all our members of my Golden Tooth, so we all be prepared for the worst to come. My pride aside, i want all of us to get stronger." His voice was steady, but it carried the same undercurrent of sorrow we all felt.

"We currently carry their spirit. That is how we honor them." The carriage creaked behind us. Soft conversations drifted from it. Xihua speaking quietly to the wounded. Xhife trying to lift spirits with small jokes that fell a little flat, but were appreciated anyway. Our first major stop came after several hard days of travel. An Orthodox Sect territory appeared on the horizon. We were warned by merchants ahead about the Entei Sect.

It was a female-exclusive sect that fought evil, wicked men who only thought with their rods. If you were not careful, you might experience the " Rippage." Someone asked what that meant, and after hearing the answer, I desperately wanted to forget the newly found information. The Rippage was a brutal punishment. The female warriors would tie a string around a man's piece and his two jewels, while securing the punished to a tree stump.

Then, they would pull until it was no longer a part of his body, leaving a massive, bloody trail behind. Not many survived the sheer pain and the loss of such a vital organ. Even though the merchant spoke in an indirect way, every single male present understood exactly what was being conveyed. As we drew closer, Zhuofing, sitting at the front of the cart, began describing what he knew while we walked beside him. We all listened closely.

"The Entei Sect holds the female spirit at the front. They view the vulva as the most important organ, which makes sense, as children come out of that place," Zhuofing said. His tone was respectful.

"They are often women who have experienced rape, lost family to it, or were sold into slavedom to be beaten and later got freed. This sect stands strong under the current leader known as Water Wave of Weisha. The strongest female sect master, at the tender age of forty-two." The leader of the Entei Sect was a powerful forty-two-year-old amber-hued woman with long, shiny, vibrant blue hair tied in a high ponytail.

She had a mature, commanding beauty and wore traditional female fighter attire in dark blue and black with red accents. She stood confidently with clenched fists, ready for battle against any man who thought to say women were weaker or lesser than men. The sect's banner flew proudly at the gates. A dynamic horizontal waving flag with a deep royal blue field and silver borders. In the center was a bold white silhouette of a female warrior in a powerful side-sword stance, legs wide apart, ready to cut.

Elegant silver text read "Entei Sect" and the characters "炎帝宗." Once we entered the city of the Entei Sect, we saw so many of their female fighters and not many males. The men who were there only did miscellaneous work like cleaning, while wearing the sect clothes. The ratio was roughly six to one. The problem was not just the imbalance. As we walked deeper, we were not allowed to leave the city immediately at the exit gate. A guardian female in full iron-coal armor with a short saber stood there. She was 1.

64 meters tall, with a wide, muscular build.

"No. I can't let you leave, travellers. We have an important day today." The Entei Sect was holding its monthly tournament to promote the city and, of course, show the might of their female members. Arrogant sect disciples walked past us. They looked at our female escort fighters and made fun of them.

"How unruly they look after whatever backwater road they crawled from," one sneered. Another laughed.

"Did their masters not teach them how to carry themselves?" We did not fight back; who could be mad at that after everything we had endured? We had lost so many precious friends, masters, leaders, and even family members. Our clothes were beaten, ragged, and filthy. We all looked somewhat dirty and unruly. Because of that, it made perfect sense why no one wanted to escalate the situation.

When the Entei Sect female fighters did not even receive a snarled comeback, they grew angry at not being recognized as the center of attention to be gawked at. One of them, thoroughly pissed off by the situation, walked straight up to Qixian, who was still depressed from losing her leader, Mo, and slapped her across her spaced-out face. Something inside me snapped. My thoughts raged: How dare they be so arrogant? Just because it is their territory and they want to be protectors?

How can they be protectors if they are just as abusive as their own abusers, only in different ways? Qixian barely reacted to the blow. She simply lowered her head, still not fully back to herself. The slap echoed out to the many gawkers watching around us. I was furious now. With my heart beating recklessly, I walked straight up to the group without saying a word and punched the woman who had slapped her hard in the stomach with a closed fist.

She stumbled back, grinning as if she had finally gotten exactly what she wanted. Then, she threw herself theatrically to the ground, crying loudly about how I had beaten a weak woman out of nowhere. Shopkeepers and other citizens immediately sided with her. The crowd pressed in, making it even harder to move through. The Entei Sect leader, Weisha, showed up right after her victory in the square, having just beaten a powerful warrior herself.

"You dare lay a hand on my disciple in the middle of our territory?" Weisha demanded with heavy voice of anger in it. The crying student sobbed louder from the dirt, pointing a trembling finger at my chest.

"Master, he struck me out of nowhere! I was only trying to welcome them, and he punched me in the stomach!" I scoffed, my blood now really boiling as I stepped closer to the accusing disciple.

"Your welcoming committee involves slapping a grieving woman across the face? Your student is a liar, Lady Weisha. She wanted a fight, and she got one." Weisha did not even glance back at her student. Her eyes remained locked onto mine, blinded by pride.

"I do not care what excuses an unruly suren outsider like you makes. You have insulted the Entei Sect. I demand a duel between you both in the square to settle this with honor." was furious at how blind a person of power could be. But I slapped myself hard on the cheek to refocus and yelled loudly, accepting the open challenge. The girl, named Qiqi, was a nineteen-year-old earth-attribute disciple with a dual-wielding skill. She desperately wanted to make a comeback in the tournament.

She had viewed our ragged group as the perfect stepping stone to stage her glorious return and show the whole town that she was back. Afterward, I turned to my group. Looking at our defeated bunch, I could see on their faces that they knew they couldn't do anything, and trying to help would only increase the trouble. But I thought of this as a way I could use the battle for myself, so I roared with all my lungs, shaking them out of their depression for a brief moment.

"Here I will show you my unending warrior spirit even in such a position! While losing someone hurts, and I am not telling you to forget them ever, they would want you to carry the spirit you learned from them, but watch on what i do with their spirit forging into a greater might!" I pressed my thumb against my chest, activating my Heart Flame as it pumped bright orange-red energy through the pulsating veins from my heart to the rest of my body.

"Witness my fight! My spirit is defending our honor!" I rushed into the square arena, where four massive wooden tribunes held fourteen thousand viewers. The crowd was still settled in their seats after having just witnessed the Entei Sect leader, Weisha, dismantle a powerful warrior. She sat down in her viewing box after my invigorating speech, wanting to see if this outsider had any real spunk, though she mostly wanted to see me beaten into the dirt. I stood on the stone-made arena.

My opponent got introduced to all the viewers. Then Qiqi. A twenty-to-zero ranking. Earth attribute. Qiqi was an amber-hued warrior of the Entei Sect whose Earth-attribute Vestuto, Murasshuang Vestuto, transformed her into a formidable, dual-wielding fighter. Her armor was a striking dark blue-black with elegant golden accents, featuring clawed gauntlets, reinforced greaves, and a wolf-inspired helmet.

This specialized gear greatly increased her swinging power, made the armor extremely hard to crack, and granted her high flexibility. It even allowed for devastating headbutt strikes capable of shattering the very ground beneath her. Furthermore, her signature ability, Weapon Recovery, instantly teleported her blades back into her hands if she were ever disarmed. She also possessed a versatile tail that she could utilize in combat or press firmly against the earth to significantly boost her short-burst speed.

The commentator turned to me.

"Hey, what's your name for introduction?" I yelled loud.

"My name is Erumes Flamma! As you can already see, I have pale skin, wild, dark red hair, and I am a Suren! I possess the Cor Flamma Vestuto, a pure Fire Attribute! And let me promise this to everyone viewing: I will win this bout!" I turned my thumb downward in a sharp gesture of disrespect, signaling my intent to defeat her in brutal fashion. The commentator boomed.

"You heard the man! Let's fight it out! Is he a stinker or a real deal? Erumes versus Qiqi!" Our members now sat and watched my performance. I showed them the true battle spirit while looking at them. As the fight started, Qiqi attacked madly with her dual weapons, but I dodged them instinctively. I already had my Cor Flamma active. The battle with Gorran had been something else entirely. He was dimensions higher in everything compared to her. So against her? No. I could already feel victory coming.

I unleashed my Elsa di Fuoco in a mighty, sweeping arc. Qiqi was barely able to block the fiery aura blade slash. It was not even my strongest attack yet; I wanted to test her capabilities first, determined not to be naive and lose control to my reckless anger. But even this testing blow forced her into her Vestuto. She screamed as she transformed, her armor forming piece by piece in a flash of energy. Dark blue-black plates erupted across her body, trimmed with sharp golden accents.

Clawed gauntlets encased her hands, reinforced greaves locked onto her legs, and a predatory, wolf-inspired helmet snapped down over her face. Her tail flicked behind her excitedly, as if she were a beast thrilled to hunt powerful prey. The crowd roared. Her movements grew faster and stronger with every swing, but on each attempt, I either evaded it with a simple side-step or blocked it when it came a bit too close. Despite her increased power, I still maintained complete control over our battle.

I unleashed my Elsa di Fuoco once more. She could immediately tell that this aura slash was both faster and stronger than the last. She barely managed to dodge, leaving a part of her shoulder smoking and burned. Up in the stands, Weisha must have noted the sudden shift in the tide. I followed up immediately with another strike. Qiqi, completely pissed off by the situation I was creating, shouted at me.

"Is that the only thing you can do? I won't be caught by that again!" But the next slash was even faster and stronger, its intensity rising to my old heat level of 3450 degrees Celsius. She struggled heavily as the fiery aura blast impacted her squarely. Though she managed to break free, her face made it clear that the heat had done real damage this time. Driven by desperation, she counterattacked with greater ferocity, throwing her dual swords like boomerangs flying straight toward me.

I moved to evade them, but as she grinned through her pain, I realized too late that the weapons were already returning. I could only dodge one. The other sliced into my arm, a stark reminder that she still had dangerous moves of her own. Still, I maintained the upper hand. Unsteady and furious, Qiqi increased the speed of her throws as we closed the distance. I managed to kick one of the weapons right out of her hand. For a split second, I wondered why she was playing so clumsily. Was there a trap?

Suddenly, she caught me with a double slash across my torso. She laughed maniacally as the weapons flew back to her hands, controlled by a power that went beyond a simple physical throw. I was perplexed. I had just kicked her weapon loose, yet she still kept them under perfect control. How? I stepped back to regroup. She charged again, laughing and gloating that it was finally her turn to claim victory as she felt the momentum shift. But I countered her instantly.

"Enough playing around." I unleashed the new full power of my Elsa di Fuoco. The blade ignited with a blistering heat of 4190 degrees Celsius, tearing through the air in a blindingly fast arc. The sheer temperature scorched her skin. She still tried to stand, stubbornly wanting to continue the match, but the massive damage was taking a severe toll. She was on the verge of being burned to standing charcoal. Before the final blow could fully burn her, Leader Weisha leaped down from the tribunes.

With a simple, fluid wave of her arm, she summoned a powerful crest of water, extinguishing my flames before they could consume her disciple.

"Come back to me, Qiqi," Weisha ordered, slapping her disciple awake from the edge of a sudden coma. Weisha then turned her attention back to the ring, her voice carrying across the quiet arena.

"This man still had a wealth of Animo hidden inside him while you were rapidly depleting yours. You found yourself an enemy you could not beat... yet. I will have to train you much harder. And it seems an apology is in order, as you have lost your honor."

"Yes, Master," she cried... this time real tears. I turned to my group. Putting my sword-axe on my shoulder. Smiling back. My thumb to the heart. Reinvigorating them a bit more and giving hope for them not to give up. Weisha thanked us for the interesting bout and told us we could leave her territory in peace. She handed over one thousand osmium as a formal apology, acknowledging that her student did not yet possess the proper maturity for such high-stakes matches.

The coin itself had been generated from the tournament's betting system. The crowd's wagers had heavily favored Qiqi to maintain her undefeated streak, but I proved too experienced for her. In breaking her streak, I secured a massive payout for our entire group. As she thanked me with a firm handshake, she whispered into my ear, hoping one day to get a chance at payback. With that final warning, she officially allowed us to depart from her region, which made all of us incredibly happy.

And so we continued the journey back. The crowd's roar still rang in my ears as I stepped down from the arena. My torso stung from Qiqi's cuts. But the pain felt distant compared to the warmth spreading from my heart. I looked at my group. Their eyes were no longer completely dead. The spark of hope inside our group was small and fragile, but it was undeniably there. Xihua met me first, touching my arm gently.

"That was reckless. But… thank you. Qixian needed that. We all did." Her voice was soft as the smoke from her pipe curled around us like a comforting veil.

"You reminded us we can still fight. Even when it hurts." Qixian approached next, her cheek still red from the slap. She bowed slightly.

"I… froze. Mo would have been disappointed. You stepped up when I couldn't. I won't forget it, Erumes." Her purple eyes held a deep gratitude mixed with lingering grief. We shared a quiet moment where no words were needed; the loss of Mo hung between us like a shared scar. Zhuofing clapped my shoulder next, his grip firm and grounding.

"You carried the spirit of Golden Tooth today. Not just for honor. For all of us. We keep moving. Together." I nodded and let the 1, 000 osmium rest in our nearly empty funds like a thin breath of air. The Entei banners faded behind us. Zhenhai was still far. But the group was walking like a group again towards home.