In the Jin royal palace hall. King Fong sat on his throne, surrounded by many half-naked girls embracing every part of his body.
Seeing us enter from the front door, King Fong ordered his female entertainers to disperse immediately. He stood up, smiling broadly and arrogantly at Shun Jin and me, who was picking my nose. I flicked the booger onto the highly polished jade floor, which was so clean it gleamed. I could see my reflection on the jade floor beneath my feet.
"Heh, you're back? Crane girl?"
"King Fong of Mount Fong. I challenge you to a fair and honorable duel. I will avenge my father's death with yours today!"
Shun Jin drew her slender sword and pointed it at King Fong, who was grinning widely. He raised both hands, signaling his guards and soldiers, who had also drawn their swords, to stay put.
"Hahaha! You're truly reckless, Shun Jin. How many months have you been training? I expected you to return and try to kill me years from now. Challenging me to a duel after such a short training period is an insult to me. It seems you've only come here to throw your life away."
King Fong descended a few steps from the small staircase leading to his throne and stood fifteen paces from us. His soldiers surrounded us. I yawned. Didn't feel intimidated by the arrogant king's attempts. It had no effect. Just like Shun Jin, who now appeared calmer than when she first stepped into what was once her palace hall, now controlled by King Fong.
"Oh? So you're scared? You're afraid that a girl, the rightful owner of this kingdom, will succeed in killing you? And you'll lose everything you've built until now? Oh, how pathetic."
Shun Jin mocked King Fong, who immediately closed his mouth and clenched his jaw and fists. The soldiers surrounding us were also provoked, growling angrily at Shun Jin for daring to underestimate their king's power.
"You're insane. It seems I need to make you realize your place, Shun Jin. You're just a weak, spoiled girl. A girl who only possesses beauty of face and body. After defeating you, I won't kill you immediately. I'll have the healers cure you, and you'll become my pleasure slave forever until I get bored and kill you."
I clapped my hands, feeling bored.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"Let's skip the warm-up before this duel and get straight to the point. I don't have much time, you know. Ah, and where is Rastella?"
"You... You that crazy man. I will repay you for what you did that day. Just wait for your turn after I teach this crane girl a lesson."
King Fong stared at me with a look full of vengeance. I could see the corners of his inverted smile twitching violently just from looking at my handsome face. I opened my mouth, and he immediately covered his ears. Then I grinned, seeing that he seemed afraid of hearing the sound that could shatter his eardrums again. He looked even more vengeful towards me.
"Finally, you've arrived. My dear~"
From behind King Fong, from within the shadows, Rastella appeared unnoticed by anyone. Even though there were dozens of eyes in the hall, no one noticed where Rastella had appeared from or where she was hiding.
I knew she used a magic technique that allowed her to hide in shadows. I looked at Rastella, who stared back at me with lust. She even tried to tempt me by licking her own lips sexily, causing some of the soldiers standing behind me to swallow hard.
"Want to drink tea while watching them duel?" I offered tea from a bottle gourd in my robe pocket. Rastella nodded without hesitation.
"Of course~"
Then we both sat on chairs available at the edge of the hall, waiting for the arrogant king and the girl to begin their duel.
"Get out of here! You are disturbing me." King Fong glanced at his soldiers surrounding Shun Jin, signaling them to leave the spacious royal hall. They nodded without question, and the hall was now occupied by only four people. Two men, two women.
King Fong, unarmed, assumed his empty-handed stance.
Shun Jin, fifteen steps away, took up a standard sword stance.
I handed my bottle gourd to Rastella.
Rastella poured tea into ceramic cups she took from out of nowhere for herself and me.
We both sipped the tea, which had turned from cold to warm again using my qi technique. Watching King Fong and Shun Jin, who remained silent, assessing each other's abilities in the middle of the vast hall.
"Who do you think will win?" Rastella opened her mouth. She asked me without turning her head.
"I don't know. No one knows the future. But I will support my own disciple." I answered without turning my head. Calmly sipping the warm tea in my cup.
"Then I support my king~ It seems fun to see your disciple become the king's pleasure slave. I'll also get to enjoy the beauty of her body. I like all living beings as long as they have genitals." Rastella said in a tone that always sound seductive.
The woman wore clothes that could almost always be described as not clothes. Because the clothes she wore always emphasized the intimate parts of her body. If there was a demon of lust in this world, I'm sure Rastella would be one of them. For her, intimacy was an everyday meal.
"We'll see. Do you dare to bet? If my disciple wins, I want you to come with me somewhere."
"Ara ara ara~ have you finally been captivated by my beauty, my love Long Yi?"
I shook my head.
"So you don't dare to bet?"
"I won't bet without a worthy reward."
"What's your offer?"
"If my king wins, you must become my lover and serve me for the rest of our lives? How about that?"
"I'm just asking you to come somewhere. That's an unfair offer."
"Alright then, I'll change my offer. If your disciple wins, you must spend the night with me. I don't mind if your disciple joins in too."
"Why did your bet change?"
"So you're rejecting my offer, hm~?"
I closed my eyes and didn't answer anything. In other words, she was just playing with me.
"The bet is off."
"Ara, what a pity. I wanted to feel your body again, my love. I'm sure every second would be very, very, very enjoyable if I did it with you."
I pulled my hand, which was resting on the armrest. Rastella tried to tempt me with her touch, which felt soft like a snake.
"Don't forget I can kill both of you whenever I want, Rastella."
"But you don't. That must be because you need me for something, right? Something related to the white snake ring your disciple wearing, for example?"
Rastella pointed with her gaze towards the ring Shun Jin wore on her right ring finger. It turned out Rastella was quite observant.
I sipped my tea in silence. It seemed my plan to bring Rastella with a false agreement had failed. I would have to take her by force if that were the case.
As we both stopped talking, Shun Jin launched the first attack. She lunged forward quickly, covering the fifteen-step distance in a few seconds.
But for King Fong, who was already at the initial stage of Soul Transformation, Shun Jin's movements were very easy to read.
He grinned. Then waited for Shun Jin to swing her sword.
"Heh, just as I expected. You are weak and untalented, Shun Jin."
Shun Jin's sword swing was just a normal sideways swing that didn't even hit King Fong's neck, which was deliberately left wide open.
King Fong laughed at Shun Jin's ordinary sword swing that missed him. Before his laughter stopped when he felt the skin on his neck being cut and red blood flowing.
"Hahahaha-hah?"
King Fong touched his own cut neck. He was sure that Shun Jin's sword had just missed his neck by a few inches. It wasn't deep, but King Fong still felt pain in his neck, which was bleeding.
"What have you done, crane girl?" His voice was a little hoarse, feeling the air from the cut on his neck.
It was Shun Jin's turn to sneer. "Does it hurt, King Fong? Do you want to cry?"
Tense veins appeared on his forehead. King Fong began to use qi energy in his hands. It was visible from his palms, which now glowed brownish.
"I will cut off both your hands forever, Shun Jin. You will become a toy to satisfy my lust without hands."
Shun Jin, who had kept her distance, was still surprised to see King Fong, who in one step was already in front of her eyes. One punch aimed at Shun Jin's stomach, but Shun Jin dropped her body to the side first and swung her sword back at King Fong's open gap.
But her sword could no longer scratch King Fong's body, which had already used the body hardening technique. Shun Jin's eyes widened as she felt her waist hit by a quick side kick from King Fong.
THUD!
Shun Jin managed to block it with her sword, but she still flew, her back landing against one of the pillars in the hall, causing the pillar to shake from the force of Shun Jin hitting it.
"Cough! Cough!" Shun Jin coughed blood just from one attack by King Fong.
"Shun Jin! You know? Your father also tried to hurt me with a sword, but he couldn't even scratch my skin a bit. That's because of this technique, the body hardening technique that makes my body harder than stone! And I will use the same technique when I kill your father on you, Shun Jin!!!"
King Fong jumped high and slammed both hands from above his head onto Shun Jin, who was still sitting weakly leaning against the pillar.
BANG!
The hall pillar collapsed into stone fragments from the impact of King Fong's hands. The floor cracked, and dust billowed high.
Shun Jin stood in the middle of the hall. Fortunately, she reacted quickly and managed to avoid the deadly attack just now. Her breath was ragged, but her eyes remained unchanged, filled with burning flames of revenge.
The tea in my glass shook violently but did not spill. I continued to sip my tea calmly.
"Are you sure you won't help your disciple, Long Yi? She will die if this continues." Rastella said mockingly, seeing Shun Jin in a mess. She was overwhelmed by King Fong's continuous punches, which echoed, breaking the air with each blow.
I shrugged. "She will still win."
Suddenly, the sound of wind splitting was heard. After that, one hand was severed and flew high in the air.
Rastella's eyes widened, just like King Fong, who clenched his jaw hard.
***