Chapter 70
"What a useless piece of dope shit you are, Ming."
His calm voice made the words even crueler.
"I don't know if I should even think this, but tell me… from the way you used Excusatio and acted so certain of your victory… was it your overconfidence fed by your master Jiu over the years? Did getting Excusatio make you believe you had already surpassed everyone else?"
Ming's fingers twitched weakly against the ground.
Blood continued leaving his body while he desperately forced himself conscious. He knew if he stopped listening, if he allowed himself to fade, the blood loss would drag him into unconsciousness completely.
"Or," Wuming continued quietly, "did you truly think only you possessed Excusatio? Was it your overwhelming stupidity… or simply the false hope I allowed you to keep?"
The words struck harder than the sword.
Ming clenched his teeth painfully.
Wuming was merciless.
Malicious.
Kai and Ning reached Ming's side furiously.
"Big brother!"
Still Wuming never turned toward them. His cold eyes remained fixed only on Ming.
"How touching," he said softly. "They love you… and despise me."
His silver hair continued flowing behind him while his expression stayed completely blank.
"You know," he murmured, "both of them once tried killing me with their swords. So you merely paid the price for your lovely siblings' actions."
Ming grunted weakly, trying to glare at him, but even moving hurt now.
"Don't worry," Wuming said calmly. "They will pay too."
For the first time his gaze shifted slightly toward Wei Zhi and Weiyang standing in the distance.
"But I won't be the one collecting that payment."
A faint coldness entered his eyes.
"Wei Zhi and Weiyang will."
Kai looked at Wuming with burning eyes and gritted his teeth. "You bastard… that title belonged to my brother, not you." His voice echoed through the broken arena while Ming still struggled on the ground, blood slowly spreading beneath him.
Wuming looked at him calmly, not even offended. "Yeah. You're right." His cold silver eyes shifted toward Ming. "Then defeat me next time and I'll give the heir title and place back to you. But if you lose again…" his voice lowered, "I'll take your life."
Ning's face paled. "How could you even say that?!" But Wuming stayed silent for a moment, his expression emotionless, almost disappointed as he looked around at everyone present. Like he had expected more from the so-called new generation of Renshou.
"You have four years, Ming," Wuming said quietly. "That battle will either become your most honored fight… or your last." His long silver-white hair moved behind him as he turned away slowly.
Ning clenched her fists. "Even now you insult him? Show some respect to elders!" Wuming finally glanced at her, his gaze sharp and detached. "Yell at me next time too and you won't even be able to make a sound. That pretty voice of yours will disappear."
As Wuming began walking away, Ming forced himself to speak through the pain. "Promise me… it will be a fair fight, Wuming…" Wuming stopped without turning fully. "I always play fair."
Ming frowned weakly from the ground. "If you played fair… you wouldn't have broken my shield and toyed with me." Wuming finally glanced back over his shoulder, his cold eyes looking down at Ming's desperate state. "There's no rule in the books of Renshou saying you can't toy with your opponent. And don't forget…" his eyes narrowed slightly, "you tried doing the same."
Ming stayed silent, anger and humiliation burning inside him, but before he could answer, Kai suddenly rushed forward. "You are unworthy of fighting my brother, you demon!" Hidden inside his sleeve was a knife flashing toward Wuming.
Wuming's eyes darkened slightly. "Despicable moves. Huh…?" But before Kai could reach him, Weiyang stepped between them instantly. Kai's eyes widened as Weiyang caught the blade with his bare hand.
Blood dripped slowly from Weiyang's palm, yet he only grinned lazily at Kai. "Hello buddy," he said softly, tightening his grip around the knife while blood slid across his fingers. "It's me you have to fight. Not him."
Weiyang said without looking back, "So there was a shield on Ming?" He tightened his grip around the knife in his bleeding palm and smirked lightly. "When did you break it?"
Wuming looked at him calmly. "The Marquise of Wu An placed protective shields on every blood connected member inside the estate." His silver eyes shifted faintly toward Ming laying unconscious on the ground. "I broke it during the second clash."
Weiyang whistled softly. "It's really good to have a father, you know? Thank him for us someday." Wuming did not reply to that and instead walked straight toward Wei Zhi while the cold night wind moved his long silver hair behind him.
Meanwhile Elder Jiu stood completely shocked. He kept replaying the fight in his head again and again yet still could not understand how Wuming had broken the shield without anyone noticing. Even Ming himself had not realized it until the very end.
Elder Gu smiled calmly while sipping the tea Wei Zhi had brewed earlier. "Care to explain, boy?" But Wuming did not answer him. He did not even spare him a glance. His attention remained entirely on Wei Zhi.
He stopped directly in front of her, standing so close that her chest slightly brushed against his upper abdomen. Then without warning his head lowered onto her shoulder and his tired voice sounded beside her ear. "Heal me."
Wei Zhi blinked slowly. "I'm a soul reaper, not your personal universal omniscient person who can do everything for you." Wuming stayed leaning against her and replied quietly, "At least patch me up… and don't let anyone near me."
She stared at him for a second before sighing softly. "Okay." Her hands moved onto his back carefully and she looked toward Elder Gu. "Master, excuse us. He's injured. I need to patch him up."
Elder Gu waved his hand lazily. "Yeah, go on." But Elder Jiu suddenly spoke with restrained anger. "It was only a friendly match, High Venerable Gu." Elder Gu burst into laughter at those words.
"Friendly you say?" he said amusedly. "Yeah, it was friendly. That's exactly why your student isn't dead." His eyes then slowly shifted toward Kai and Weiyang standing across from each other. "But if I were you, I'd worry about Kai right now."
Elder Jiu frowned sharply while Elder Gu continued smiling. "The most dangerous monster between those monsters is the uncontrollable one." His fingers tapped lightly against the tea cup. "And Weiyang… is unpredictable."
"He doesn't possess the same level of control over himself that Wuming has," Elder Gu continued calmly. "And now even Wei Zhi is leaving. Other than me, the only people capable of keeping a leash on Weiyang are Wuming and Wei Zhi."
Elder Gu laughed again softly while Elder Jiu clenched his teeth in anger. In his mind he cursed, No wonder you didn't object to her leaving with him even though someone else could have healed that boy. What a cunning old fox.
Then Elder Jiu looked toward the center grounds again.
Weiyang and Kai stood facing each other under the moonlight.
Kai's face was tense and furious.
Meanwhile Weiyang was smiling brightly.
Like he had finally been served a feast.
Elder Gu silently watched the battlefield while stroking his beard lightly. Inwardly he could not help but admire Wuming again. Even though the boy had started swordsmanship four years later than the others, he was already skilled enough to suppress both Weiyang and Ming who had been training since the age of three.
The boy was undoubtedly a prodigy.
Yet Elder Gu sighed inwardly with one regret remaining in his heart. He still had not seen Wuming's Excusatio. That was the only thing missing from tonight's spectacle.
His eyes shifted toward Weiyang who stood under the moonlight with relaxed shoulders and a composed posture despite the blood dripping from his hand. Elder Gu smiled faintly. "I have nothing to worry about," he thought calmly. "Everything is proceeding exactly according to plan. It has already been two to three months after all."
Wuming's Excusatio was still unopened.
Or perhaps… unnecessary.
Elder Gu narrowed his eyes slightly while replaying the battle in his mind. Wuming's mastery over the basics was so absurdly efficient and refined that he had managed to dominate Ming without relying on advanced abilities at all.
That was what terrified him most.
Wuming had clearly understood the expectations everyone placed upon Ming tonight. So instead of crushing him immediately, he first gave them hope. Calmly. Patiently. He let Ming believe he was winning, let Elder Jiu believe Excusatio would secure victory… and only after that did he destroy everything in front of them.
Elder Gu's smile deepened slightly.
"Giving people hope before crushing it…" he thought. "That is one of the cruelest and most cunning methods of a demon cultivator."
His gaze slowly lifted toward the direction Wuming had disappeared with Wei Zhi.
"He will surpass Xuan Ye Xiao," Elder Gu thought quietly. "Not only as a cultivator… but as a demon."
Inside the mansion, Wei Zhi quietly patched Wuming's injuries while he sat near the bed with his upper clothes removed. Several slash marks were visible across his back and left arm, some shallow while a few were deep enough to still bleed slightly. The candlelight reflected against his pale skin and silver-white hair flowing down far beneath his back.
Wei Zhi carefully wrapped another cloth around his arm and suddenly said, "By the way… did you notice something?" Wuming's eyes remained closed while resting against the chair. "About what?"
"Master Gu," she replied quietly while continuing to clean the blood from his shoulder. Wuming gave a faint scoff. "He's an old fox." His voice stayed calm. "He orchestrated this whole event just to make us reveal ourselves fully."
Wei Zhi nodded slowly. "I suspected the same. But when did you notice?" Wuming opened his eyes slightly, his golden irises calm and sharp. "The first thing I noticed was his behavior. Instead of punishing us immediately, he calmly waited for Elder Jiu and the others to arrive."
He leaned his head back against the chair and continued, "Either both elders planned this together to observe their students' true abilities and thinking patterns in battle… or Elder Gu alone suspected I had awakened Excusatio."
Wei Zhi hummed thoughtfully. "I suspected the planning too. But don't you think the way he sent us away afterward was strange?" She tightened the bandage around his arm carefully. "Usually he would stop me from leaving and make me observe the fight, analyze every movement, and explain possible counterattacks between Weiyang and Kai."
Wuming looked at her slightly. "Did he make you do the same during my fights?" Wei Zhi suddenly laughed softly and shook her head. "No. We don't analyze your matches anymore."
She leaned back slightly while staring at him with narrowed eyes. "Because every time we predict something, you do the complete opposite. Or worse." A faint smirk appeared on her lips. "None of us can predict your movements anymore."
"You don't have a consistent battle pattern at all," she continued. "Most of the time you only use basics to defeat your opponent, even during training against me, Weiyang, Yinghua, or the estate guards. But every now and then… you suddenly switch into a completely different style."
Wei Zhi paused for a second before quietly adding, "Your fighting style is either too unpredictable… or too predictable to the point it becomes terrifying."
Wuming opened his eyes slightly and looked at her. "Is that so?" His voice carried faint amusement while Wei Zhi finished wrapping the cloth around his arm. She nodded lightly. "Yeah. Though honestly… I still prefer watching Weiyang fight."
Wuming gave a faint scoff at her words and closed his eyes again. "Well, after patching me up you can go then." His tone sounded indifferent as usual, but Wei Zhi still laughed softly hearing it.
End of 70