As soon as Jiang Wang finished speaking, he unsheathed his sword and struck without hesitation.
"What, what!?"
A flash of cold light appeared, and Fang Pengju, shocked and furious, rolled and crawled to avoid the sword. He was both terrified and extremely embarrassed.
Moreover, no one else present reacted in time. Almost everyone thought that the next scene would be a reconciliation between brothers, a deep bond of friendship, and perhaps even a story that would be talked about for a while.
No one expected that under the watchful eyes of many and with the bond of brotherhood, Jiang Wang would actually draw his sword!
"Pengju," Jiang Wang looked at him with a smile on his lips, but the smile was particularly cold, "You said you would wait for your death, so why did you dodge?"
Fang Pengju's handsome face turned pale and then flushed. He stood up from the ground and glared at him, gritting his teeth, "Third brother, do you really not care about our brotherhood at all?"
"You shameless scoundrel!" At this point, Du Yehu was furious, "I was blind to call you a brother!"
He said this and stepped forward to charge, but Jiang Wang stopped him with a hand.
"Second brother, let me handle this myself."
Fang Pengju glared at him, "Du Yehu! What does this have to do with you!?"
"Fang Pengju, you have disappointed me so much!" Ling He, who was always tolerant, could no longer suppress his anger. He stepped forward, drew his sword from his waist, cut off a corner of his robe, and threw it on the ground, "From now on, we sever our brotherhood!"
"Big brother!" Fang Pengju gave a bitter laugh, "It's fine that Second brother is impulsive, but can't even you understand me? To prove my innocence, I am willing to die, but my parents only have me as their son. I am their only hope, the one they can't let go of even in death! My life is not my own, how can I die here? Jiang Wang blindly trusts villains, refuses to listen to explanations, and is determined to kill me! Does he still have any sense of brotherhood in his heart?"
"Fourth brother, this is the last time I call you that," Zhao Rucheng, the youngest of the Five Heroes of Fenglin, finally spoke. His face still had a hint of youth but was already extremely handsome. When he spoke, it was like gold and jade, resonating with authority: "Fang Decai has the surname Fang! His family has served your Fang family for generations! What kind of conditions could a group of defeated bandits offer to buy him? Are you insulting the wealth of your Fang family, or are you insulting our intelligence? How did a group of losers from West Mountain manage to infiltrate Fenglin City and set a trap at Wangyue Tower? Finally, since you don't have the determination to die to prove your innocence, who were you pretending for just now? I, Zhao Rucheng, am ashamed to be associated with you!"
Among the five, Ling He and Jiang Wang came from poor families, Du Yehu's family was neither rich nor poor, while Fang Pengju and Zhao Rucheng were both wealthy young masters. The Fang family needs no introduction, and although the Zhao family had only moved to Fenglin City a decade ago, their wealth was unfathomable.
"Young Fifth, you have always been close to Third brother, and it's fine that you usually favor him, but am I not your Fourth brother? Without any evidence, you just make these heartless accusations based on assumptions. Can your conscience really be at peace?"
Fang Pengju was heartbroken and appeared to be in great pain.
"Pengju, you still have your eloquence," Jiang Wang stopped Zhao Rucheng and others, "But have you ever thought about why, even when I was severely injured and fleeing, I didn't secretly contact Big brother or Second brother or Little Fifth, but chose to come to you only today?"
He slightly lowered his eyelids: "Because I never wanted to put them in a position to make any choices, didn't want them to doubt, didn't want them to be in a difficult situation! The matters between you and me, I will settle them myself. If I die, then so be it. Since I am still alive, then what you owe me, you must pay back."
Fang Pengju looked at him coldly: "Do you have a persecution complex? I don't owe you anything, so how can I pay you back? Why are you so stubborn?"
But Jiang Wang no longer spoke with him, instead, he turned and bowed deeply to the towering statue of the Daoist Sage in the courtyard: "Disciple Jiang Wang, harmed by the villain Fang Pengju, nearly lost my life. This grudge is irreconcilable, this hatred is inextinguishable. I request a duel to the death with him!"
The crowd was in an uproar.
A duel witnessed by the Daoist Sage!!!
It is a sin for fellow disciples to kill each other, but if there is a deep-seated grudge, a blood feud that cannot be resolved, the Daoist sect does not shy away from duels.
Among all kinds of duels, a duel witnessed by the Daoist Sage is the most irreversible.
The Daoist sect generally believes that the Daoist Sage lies in the Ninth Heaven, perceiving the universe. To chant his name is to be known by him. To bow before his form is to be felt by him. Any oath involving the Daoist Sage is irreversible.
A duel witnessed by the Daoist Sage, to the death.
As soon as Jiang Wang finished speaking, a middle-aged Taoist priest in a black robe appeared in front of the statue of the Daoist Sage.
He had a resolute face, with a short beard. On the right chest of his black Taoist robe was embroidered a small azure dragon, which looked incredibly lifelike. This was the腾龙道袍 (Tenglong Dao Pao) that only a middle-three-rank strong cultivator could wear.
Cultivators in the secular world are generally divided into nine ranks. Different schools may have different names and also different extraordinary manifestations, but the general rank can correspond to the nine-rank system. From nine to seven ranks are the initial stage, six to four ranks are the intermediate stage, and three to one rank are the advanced stage. Interestingly, this also corresponds to the official ranks in various countries.
Of course, in a small country like Zhuangguo, even a first-rank prime minister may not truly possess first-rank strength.
As soon as the black-robed, short-bearded Taoist appeared, all the disciples present bowed and greeted him, "Dean!"
There were not many Taoists in Fenglin City who could wear the腾龙黑袍 (Tenglong Black Robe), and among them was the dean of Fenglin Dao Academy, Dong A. It is said that he once cultivated in the capital of Zhuangguo, Xinning City, but because of his upright and impartial character, which offended the powerful, he was assigned to Qinghe Prefecture, Fenglin City.
Ling He had a sorrowful expression on his face but did not utter a word. He was well aware of Jiang Wang's swordsmanship, which could be said that before officially beginning to cultivate the Daoist arts, no one in the outer court was his match, and Fang Pengju was no exception.
However, since Jiang Wang had proposed a duel witnessed by the Daoist Sage, it meant that the grievance was irreconcilable. Now that the dean had arrived in person, Fang Pengju either had to fight to the death or could only wait for the Fenglin Dao Academy to intervene and investigate the matter of Jiang Wang being ambushed.
But how could Fang Pengju withstand an investigation by the academy?
Thus, in reality, he had no choice.
Under the countless gazes filled with suspicion, mockery, or anger, Fang Pengju's face still showed no panic, "Third brother, do we really have to face each other with swords?"
Jiang Wang said indifferently, "It was you, not me, who brought us to this situation."
"What can I do to make you trust me?"
"I have already paid for this trust with my life once. Now, talking more is useless. The Fang Pengju I remember is not a coward who dares not to fight."
Fang Pengju remained unmoved: "Are you that confident you can kill me?"
Jiang Wang looked at him calmly: "It's worth a try."
Fang Pengju stared at him for a while, then suddenly laughed loudly: "Unfortunately, you can't kill me. Our duel cannot be established. Because just the day before yesterday, my Dao pulse first manifested, which means I am already an inner court disciple! We are on different levels, how can we duel?"
He straightened his body and fully activated his Dao pulse. Everyone present could sense a momentum rising from his spine, making him look spirited and vigorous. This indicated that he had manifested his Dao pulse, and his physical body could now feedback to the Dao pulse to generate Dao essence, formally possessing extraordinary power.
The academy had long established regulations regarding duels, one of which was very important: anyone could unconditionally refuse a duel invitation between different levels. This was to protect lower-rank cultivators from being bullied by higher-rank cultivators taking advantage of this. But at this moment, it became Fang Pengju's reason to evade the duel.
Although he had manifested the Dao pulse, it had not been long, and he had not yet begun to practice the Daoist arts, so his power had not essentially improved. Therefore, he still did not have the confidence to fight Jiang Wang.
Jiang Wang fell silent.
He silently looked at Fang Pengju, with complex emotions.
Then he slowly said: "For this Pulse-Opening Pill, I charged into West Mountain alone with my sword, fought fiercely in blood, and finally shattered the bandit's nest. In this battle, I was wounded in thirteen places, two of which were fatal."
"To achieve the best effect of opening the pulse, I prepared to take this pill when my body recovered to its peak condition. I understand the principle of 'possessing a jade makes one a criminal,' so I never hinted to anyone. Everyone thought I would take the pill that day, except for you, except for us five brothers who have been through life and death together. Because I have nothing that I need to hide from you."
"Since I was five years old and entered the world of cultivation, I have been chasing this Pulse-Opening Pill. I do not have a naturally manifested Dao pulse, and to become extraordinary, I can only rely on the pill. It is my path of cultivation, my hope, my only light. You know my family situation, you know how hard I have worked. I get up to practice swordsmanship before dawn every day and only rest when the moon is high in the sky. I never go to brothels or indulge myself in any way. In the entire Fenglin Dao Academy, I dare say no outer court disciple works harder than me. For this Pulse-Opening Pill, I have worked hard for eleven years!"
Jiang Wang said, staring intently at Fang Pengju, "Is this pill, mixed with my sweat, blood, and tears, effective?"
The venue fell silent for a moment.
Ling He's lips were tightly pursed, Zhao Rucheng gritted his teeth and was speechless, and even a man like Du Yehu had tears in his eyes.
Yes, who among them did not know Jiang Wang's obsession, his exhaustion, his suffering?
And Fang Pengju, he could actually bring himself to do such a thing!
"I don't know what you're talking about!" A flicker of discomfort crossed Fang Pengju's face, but he quickly suppressed it, "My uncle led a caravan through Yun Country last month and happened to buy a Pulse-Opening Pill from a cultivator who was short of money. That's how I was able to manifest my Dao pulse. What does this have to do with you? Don't think everyone is as poor as you and will stop at nothing to advance! My Fang family is immensely wealthy. Can't we afford a Pulse-Opening Pill?"
Zhao Rucheng was so angry that he no longer held back his words: "Yes, the Fang family is indeed immensely wealthy. Unfortunately, your parents died early, and you are not the only heir of the Fang family. The family resources allocated to you are also limited. Otherwise, how could it be that for such a long time, you didn't have a Pulse-Opening Pill, but then so conveniently, you had one after my third brother was attacked?"
"That's just a coincidence. I can only say it's too coincidental!" Fang Pengju's eyes turned cold, "Don't talk about things without evidence. For the sake of our brotherhood, I won't hold it against you. If there's a next time, as an inner court disciple, I will let you know what it means to respect your superiors!"
"You!" Zhao Rucheng was furious.
Du Yehu was grinding his teeth in anger. If it weren't for the dean being present, he would have liked to smash Fang Pengju's handsome face with a punch.
Only Jiang Wang seemed calm: "Fang Pengju, I told you before. You are too arrogant, too self-righteous, and often ignore the truth because of this. Why can't you learn what I taught you?"
"Why don't you think about it? If a duel witnessed by the Daoist Sage cannot be established, then why is Dean Dong here?"
He took a step forward and also activated his Dao pulse. The earthworm in the spinal dragon inside him began to move violently, making him as sharp and straight as a sword!
"It's because I have also manifested my Dao pulse and formally possess the possibility of becoming extraordinary!"
"Our levels are the same, and you dare not let the dean investigate. Therefore, the duel is established!"
As Fang Pengju's face turned pale with shock, Dean Dong A had already waved his wide sleeves.
Right at the entrance of the academy, right under the feet of Jiang Wang and Fang Pengju, a sapling suddenly broke through the soil and grew wildly in a few breaths, becoming a huge wooden pillar that lifted the two of them and separated the other outer court disciples outside.
The top of the wooden pillar was as flat as if it had been cut by a sharp weapon, ten steps square. From a distance, it looked like a wooden circular platform. Only around the "platform," there were branches swaying.
Fang Pengju had no doubt that if he turned and ran, these seemingly harmless branches would turn into ferocious beasts.
And Jiang Wang's hand was already on the hilt of his sword, ready to strike.
Dong A casually waved his hand, and a branch twisted to pick up the sword that Fang Pengju had thrown on the ground earlier and threw it onto the platform.
Fang Pengju caught it with his hand.
In front of the Daoist Sage statue whose face could never be seen clearly, the fifth-rank inner treasury realm strong cultivator Dong A indifferently announced, "The duel witnessed by the Daoist Sage begins!"