Jason was lucky enough to be prepared. He dodged Karadi's sword in time, but the blade still carved a cut across his face. Fresh red blood slowly trickled down.
"Holy crap! That was close—way too close. My new life has only just begun, I don't want it to end like this!"
Jason patted his chest, speaking with lingering fear.
"Today, you are dead for sure!"
As Karadi spoke, blue nuqi burst forth and wrapped itself around his sword.
At that moment, the system's voice suddenly rang out in Jason's mind.
"Warning. You are currently in mortal danger. It is advised that you prepare for combat immediately."
"As if you need to tell me! I'm not blind—I can see that!" Jason complained.
Jason and the nearly unhinged Karadi stood facing each other. A battle was about to erupt.
"So you've really made up your mind to kill me today, huh?" Jason asked Karadi.
"Isn't that obvious enough?" Karadi replied coldly.
As he spoke, Karadi raised his sword high.
"If that's the case, then come on. I also want to feel what it's like to fight someone head-on."
As Jason spoke, he released his own nuqi, which wrapped around both of his arms.
Seeing the blue nuqi emanating from Jason, Karadi stared in disbelief.
"What? You… weren't you only D-rank nuqi? How is this C-rank?!"
Karadi had always heard that Jason was a useless D-rank nuqi cultivator. He never expected Jason to actually be C-rank. The shock was real.
"People have to grow, you know. I made so many enemies before—if I didn't pick up a few new tricks, I'd probably have been wiped out already."
Jason smiled smugly at Karadi.
"So the rumors about the Lyon family's young master being just a D-rank trash nuqi cultivator were fake? You hid it pretty well," Karadi said.
"Hey, you misunderstand. I'm actually very simple—no scheming at all. I really was only D-rank. It's just that a few days ago I got lucky and obtained some divine power that could upgrade my nuqi level… and I accidentally leveled up."
Jason said this with a strong hint of showing off.
"Divine power that lets you level up? Stop joking. Do you think I'm an idiot?" Karadi sneered.
"I'm not joking. Everything I said is true. As long as I use this divine power properly, I'll definitely become a man who stands at the peak of the Calradia Continent. If you come back and follow me now, I can forget what happened today and let bygones be bygones."
As Jason spoke, his presence suddenly became imposing.
"Once a knight draws his sword, there's no turning back. Enough nonsense—take this!"
Karadi stepped forward in a burst and charged straight at Jason.
"Shit—!"
Seeing Karadi rushing at him with his sword, Jason's heart turned cold. All the momentum he had just built up vanished instantly.
"What do I do?" Jason panicked and asked the system.
"It is recommended that you engage head-on."
"Easy for you to say! In my old world, society wasn't this violent. I don't even know how to fight!" Jason shouted back.
"Take this!"
While Jason was talking to the system, Karadi slashed straight at him.
In a panic, Jason's legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground, rolling and scrambling as he barely dodged the strike. He looked utterly miserable.
Karadi snorted when he saw this.
Looking at Jason with disdain, he said, "So this is the divine power you were bragging about, Young Master? Truly impressive. And you think you can stand at the peak of the Calradia Continent like this? What—by rolling your way up?"
"You…!"
Jason's face flushed red with humiliation as he slowly got back to his feet. That feeling of disgrace made him recall the humiliation he suffered after his wife betrayed him.
Raging anger surged into his head.
"You're nothing but trash! If you hadn't been born into a good family, you'd be nothing at all. Die!"
Karadi swung his sword again at Jason.
Clang!
Jason directly grabbed Karadi's sword with his nuqi-covered hand, his eyes blazing as he stared straight at him.
"I am destined to stand at the peak of the Calradia Continent—whether you believe it or not!"
As he spoke, Jason clenched his left fist and punched straight toward Karadi's abdomen.
Karadi immediately released nuqi to his stomach, blocking the punch, then lifted his leg and kicked Jason square in the chest.
Caught completely off guard, Jason was sent flying and slammed onto the ground.
He had been far too careless—and more importantly, he had no real combat skills at all.
His control over nuqi was also extremely crude. Even though his nuqi rank was the same as Karadi's, he was still completely outmatched.
"Even if you really did obtain divine power, you no longer have the chance to use it to reach the peak—because today is your end!"
Karadi raised his sword and slashed down at Jason.
Half-lying on the ground, Jason hastily raised his arm to block.
Bang!
Karadi's sword came crashing down onto Jason's arm. Though Jason's arm was protected by nuqi, Karadi's blade was also reinforced—and its impact was far stronger.
A sharp sound of metal cutting into flesh rang out.
Bright red blood poured from Jason's arm. That strike carved a deep gash into his right arm, blood flowing uncontrollably.
A piercing pain assaulted Jason's senses, but he couldn't spare any attention for it—because he knew that in the next moment, he might lose his life altogether.
"Stop struggling. I'll make it quick," Karadi said coldly, raising his sword once more.
"Wait! Are you really willing to ruin your future, stain your hands with crime, all for a vain, gold-digging woman?" Jason shouted.
Jason knew that mere words couldn't truly shake Karadi.
But he still had to do something—to save his life, instead of lying there waiting to be slaughtered like a lamb.
"You don't understand my love for her. Enough talk—die!"
Karadi swung his sword down again.
At the very instant the blade was about to touch him, Jason forced himself to roll to the side with all his strength.
Karadi didn't hesitate at all, stepping forward instantly and raising his sword for another strike.
Jason had nowhere left to run.
Instinctively, he raised his arms and infused them with nuqi, hoping to block the attack. His heart was pounding wildly.
Jason closed his eyes.
He was ready to face death.
...
The fully completed English PDF of this fan-fic is now available on my Patreon shop.If you want to support my work and enjoy the entire story in one go, grab the PDF and binge-read it from start to finish without any breaks.
Patreon Shop:patreon.com /InkNovels
Here are a few fan-fic titles that I've recently uploaded on my Patreon:
"Game of Thrones: Dragon Prince"
"Game of Thrones: Political Life"
"Game of Thrones: Lannister Kingdom"
"Game of Thrones: Ruler of the Deep Seas "
" Game of Thrones: From the Elden Lord to the Young Wolf"
"Game of Thrones The Glory of a Knight"
(End Chapter)