Chapter 5: If You Had Experienced Everything I Experienced

The moment Dong A announced the start of the duel, the two long swords on the wooden platform clashed with a ringing sound!

Before the duel, Fang Pengju had tried every possible way to evade it. But once the duel truly began, he showed not the slightest hesitation. His sword was steady, precise, and ruthless, leaving no room at all. The fact that he could stand out among all the outer disciples of Maple Forest Dao Academy and earn Jiang Wang and the others’ respect in the past naturally meant his reputation was not undeserved.

But Jiang Wang was faster, steadier, and more resolute than him!

Because he had already waited fifty-seven days. Because during those fifty-seven days and nights, he had imagined this scene every moment.

Even while carrying severe injuries, even while enduring his sickly body, even while hovering near death several times.

When enemies fought with blades and swords, whether he was wounded or died, he could accept it. But being betrayed by the person he trusted most—the pain and torment in his heart far exceeded that of his body.

What had supported him through those days, besides his boundless desire to live, was hatred carved deep into his bones!

With one sword, he broke into Fang Pengju’s sword momentum.

As the sword entered, he advanced as well, directly slamming his lower abdomen into Fang Pengju’s long sword. Blood splashed, yet Jiang Wang swung his own sword across indifferently and sliced open Fang Pengju’s wrist tendon!

The two wounds appeared almost at the same time. But one was active and one was passive, and that alone had already decided the outcome.

Jiang Wang advanced again, driving his body with his elbow and smashing forward violently. He slammed hard into Fang Pengju’s chest.

Fang Pengju had just lost control of his sword under the intense pain when, in the next instant, he clearly heard the sound of his own bones cracking.

His entire body was blasted into the shape of a shrimp. He crashed toward the edge of the platform, only to be bounced back by the swaying branches and fall onto the platform.

In just one exchange, Fang Pengju had been defeated!

“How is that possible? The difference… is actually this great?!”

Below the platform, an uproar erupted.

Everything had happened too quickly. The Meridian Opening Pill mixed with Jiang Wang’s blood and tears had allowed Fang Pengju’s dao meridian to first manifest and filled him with vigor.

But the sword mixed with Jiang Wang’s hatred and pain also caused Fang Pengju to fall into the dust.

“He lost to himself. He lost to fear,” Zhao Rucheng said in a low voice. “If not for fear, he would not have chosen to murder Third Brother and seize the Meridian Opening Pill through despicable means. He knew that aside from this, he had no way to surpass Third Brother. Once the gap opened, he would never be able to catch up again.”

Ling He could not help sighing. “When Third Brother first came to the Dao Academy, his strength was still near the bottom, far inferior to Pengju’s. After several years, his swordsmanship became publicly acknowledged as number one in the outer academy. And Pengju has always had a proud nature…”

Du Yehu said angrily, “After all that, wasn’t it still because he was incompetent and shameless?!”

Clang!

Jiang Wang slowly pulled out the long sword that had pierced through his abdomen and casually threw it aside.

The bloodstained sword clattered to the ground, helpless and panicked, just like Fang Pengju, who was coughing up blood.

With his long sword hanging at his side, Jiang Wang walked forward slowly.

“Save me! Academy Master, save me! I am a Fang family disciple! The Fang family is one of the three great surnames of this city!”

Fang Pengju shouted in terror. Not even half the air of a wealthy young master remained.

Dong A’s face was expressionless.

“Since this is a Dao-witnessed deathmatch, naturally it does not end until one side dies. The only one who can decide your life or death is your opponent.”

“Third Brother! Third Brother!”

Fang Pengju supported himself on the ground with his hand and kept retreating.

“Spare me! Spare me! Spare me just this once!”

“The Fang family is a century-old clan! But for twenty years, we have not produced a cultivator who pushed open the Heaven and Earth Gate! One step slow means every step slow! How much time do I have left to wait? I cannot stop. I carry the earnest hopes of my dead father. I cannot stop!”

He looked at Jiang Wang with tear-filled eyes.

“Your Meridian Opening Pill—if I had told you, would you have given it to me?”

Jiang Wang said nothing.

“My uncle went to Yun Country, but he could not buy a Meridian Opening Pill at all. Even if he had bought one, it might not have been given to me. Control over Meridian Opening Pills is becoming stricter and stricter. They are only awarded to the outer disciples with the greatest hope. In the entire Maple Forest Dao Academy, only you had earned such merit. I had no choice. I had no choice!” Fang Pengju sobbed uncontrollably.

Jiang Wang narrowed his eyes.

“I actually understand you. I understand your anxiety, unease, and fear. The Fang family is a great clan. It gave you a superior environment, but competition is also fierce. I have long known that human desire is endless. I also know how badly you wanted to prove yourself, how much you wanted to win glory for your father, who died young. You told me all of it, and I remember all of it. You were eager for success and lost your senses. In truth, I can understand that.”

Amid the sudden flash of hope in Fang Pengju’s eyes, he continued, “But understanding does not mean forgiveness.”

After saying this, Jiang Wang happened to arrive before Fang Pengju.

The long sword drew a clear arc through the air, precise and without the slightest hesitation as it pierced into his chest.

“If resentment is repaid with virtue, then how should virtue be repaid?”

“So, since I once died once, you must repay me with your life.”

Jiang Wang spoke slowly.

Fang Pengju used his intact left hand to grab the sword blade, letting it cut open his palm, forcing the sword to remain inside his body so death would arrive a little later.

With great difficulty, he made hoarse sounds.

“After taking… your pill, I couldn’t sleep every night. I regretted it so much… I was so sorry. But… but you are safe and sound, aren’t you? We are brothers. Why… why can’t you forgive me… just once?”

Below the platform, many people felt complicated emotions. They could not bear to keep watching, nor could they bear to keep listening.

But Jiang Wang merely looked at him calmly.

“Do you know what betrayal feels like? Do you know that pain and anger that burns inside the heart? You made my trust seem foolish. You made everything I went through seem like a joke. You made my suffering meaningless.”

Memories were like flowing water, yet they no longer held warmth and could no longer stir waves.

“Have you ever lain on a pile of straw, weak and powerless, only able to watch helplessly as death slowly approached?”

“It was as if I saw two shadows swaying before me. I knew they were the messengers of death. It was as if I heard their breathing, slow, so slow, ringing beside my ears. I once swore that I would defeat fate! But I knew I was about to die, and there was not a single thing I could do.”

“If you had experienced everything I experienced, you would understand that some pain cannot be made up for. I am already someone who died once. If I forgive you, I will have no right to face myself.”

Jiang Wang spoke only this far, then slowly and resolutely pulled out his sword.

The high platform slowly descended. The branches withdrew, and finally, the entire dueling ground extended by the dao technique turned back into a tiny sapling and burrowed into the earth.

Fang Pengju lay quietly on the ground. His right hand hung down, while his left hand remained loosely clenched before him, as if still gripping the long sword that had taken his life. His eyes were wide open, faintly retaining pain, unwillingness, and countless emotions.

But he was already dead.

Ling He gave a soft sigh, stepped forward, removed his outer robe, and covered Fang Pengju’s face with it.

Du Yehu opened his mouth as if he wanted to curse something, but in the end, he could not speak. The man was already dead.

Zhao Rucheng stood motionless and silent.

Jiang Wang stood quietly where he was. His eyes did not look at anyone in the field, but gazed instead at the endless, distant sky.

It was as if he were looking at himself from another time and space.

“Rest in peace,” he said silently in his heart.

His mind became clear and empty.

Inside his spine, the earthworm suddenly became lively. It leapt from his tailbone and smoothly swam through part of its journey, spitting out a round, full, beautiful dao essence.

A sentence suddenly came to Jiang Wang’s mind—

Understanding the world is all cultivation; an unburdened mind is itself provision.

[End of Chapter]