Red Heart Patrols the Sky

As soon as Jiang Wang's voice fell, he didn't hesitate to draw his sword and slash.

"What, what!?"

With the sudden flash of cold light, Fang Pengju scrambled to dodge the strike, his shock and fury immense, as was his embarrassment.

Beyond that, not a single person present reacted in time. Almost everyone thought the next scene would be the brothers reconciling, their close bond becoming a beautiful anecdote worthy of retelling.

No one had anticipated that, under the watchful eyes of the crowd with the pressure of brotherly affection, Jiang Wang would actually draw his sword!

"Peng Ju," Jiang Wang said with a smile at the corner of his mouth, looking at him, yet that smile was particularly cold, "What about yielding your neck for execution as you promised? Why did you dodge?"

Fang Pengju's handsome face alternated between pale and flushed as he stood up from the ground and, grinding his teeth, met Jiang Wang's gaze: "Third Brother, do you really not care at all about our brotherly bond?"

"Shameless bastard!" By this point, Du Yehu could contain his anger no longer, "I must have been blind to ever consider you a brother!"

As he spoke, he moved to step forward, but Jiang Wang raised a hand to stop him.

"Second Brother, let me handle this matter," he said.

Fang Pengju glared furiously: "Du Yehu! What business is this of yours!?"

"Fang Pengju, you've disappointed me deeply!" Ling He, known for his kindness, could no longer suppress his anger. He stepped forward, drawing his sword from his waist, and cut off a piece of his robe's hem, tossing it onto the ground with force, "From this moment forth, we sever ties and break our sworn brotherhood!"

"Big Brother!" Fang Pengju forced a bitter smile: "Second Brother is impulsive, that's one thing, but even you can't understand me? To prove my innocence, I'm willing to die, but I'm the only son of my parents, their sole hope and legacy they can't let go of in death! My life is not my own, so how can I die here? Jiang Wang blindly trusts the villain, refuses to listen to explanations, and is set on putting me to death! Does he have any brotherly affection in his heart?"

"Fourth Brother, this is the last time I'll call you that," Zhao Rucheng, the youngest among the Five Heroes of Maple Forest, finally spoke up. His appearance was youthful yet exceedingly handsome, and when he spoke, his words were like gold and jade striking the ground: "Fang DeCai bears the Fang surname! He has served your Fang Family for generations! What could a bunch of defeated bandits offer to buy him? Are you insulting the wealth and power of your Fang Family, or the intelligence of all of us? How did a group of degenerates from the Western Hills mix into Fenglin City and even boldly set a trap in the Moonwatching Tower? Lastly, since you didn't have the resolve to demonstrate your innocence through death, who were you performing that pretentious act 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, while Du Yehu's family circumstances were neither good nor poor. Both Fang Pengju and Zhao Rucheng were sons of wealthy families. There was no need to mention the Fang family, and although the Zhao Family had only moved to Fenglin City in the last decade, their wealth was unfathomably deep.

"Little Five, you've always been close to Third Brother and it's fine that you're biased towards him on normal days, but am I not your Fourth Brother? Without any evidence and merely based on conjecture, you say such heart-wrenching words; can your conscience really be at peace?"

Fang Pengju expressed his agonizing pain, seemingly deeply hurt and tormented.

"Peng Ju, your eloquence remains unimpaired," Jiang Wang held back Zhao Rucheng and the others, "but have you considered why, even after escaping with severe injuries, I didn't secretly contact Big Brother, Second Brother, or Little Five, and chose to come to you only today?"

His eyelids drooped slightly: "Because I never wanted them to make any choices, did not want them to doubt, did not want to put them in a difficult position! The matter between you and me, only you and I can resolve it. If I were to die, then so be it. But since I'm alive, you need to repay what you owe me."

Fang Pengju looked at him coldly: "Are you suffering from delusions of persecution? I don't owe you anything, so how can I repay you? Why can't you see reason?"

But Jiang Wang no longer engaged in dialogue with him; instead, he turned and knelt down from a distance towards the grand statue of the Taoist deity within the Taoist temple: "Disciple Jiang Wang, wronged by the traitor Fang Pengju, nearly lost his life. This enmity cannot be resolved, this hatred cannot be dissolved. I seek to settle this with a fight to the death!"

A stir arose from the crowd below.

A Taoist testimonial duel!!!

Killing a fellow disciple is a sin, but if there truly exists an unresolved grievance or undying blood feud, the Taoist Sect does not shy away from the matter of dueling.

Among various duels, those that invoke the Testament of the Taoist deity as a witness are understood to be the most irretrievable kind.

It is a commonly held belief in the Taoist Sect that the Taoist deity lies reclined in the Ninth Heaven, discerning the universe. To recite his name is to be known by him. To honor his figure is to be felt by him. And any oath that involves the Taoist deity becomes irrevocable.

A Taoist testimonial duel, where neither side rests until death.

No sooner had Jiang Wang's words ceased than a middle-aged Taoist clad in black appeared before the statue of the Taoist deity.

His face was resolute, with a small beard. The right breast of his black Taoist robe was stitched with a tiny Azure Dragon that appeared incredibly life-like. This was the Teng-long Taoist robe, which only those of Grade-4 strength or above could wear.

Secular cultivators were generally divided into nine grades. Though different schools or sects may use different names, and there may be different manifestations of transcendence, the general hierarchical system could be correlated with the nine-rank system. Grades Nine to Seven were the initial stage, Six to Four the intermediate stage, and Three to One the high stage. Interestingly, these stages also corresponded to the civil ranks within countries.

Of course, in smaller countries like Zhuang Country, even a Grade-1 Prime Minister might not truly possess the strength of a Grade-1.

No sooner had the bearded, black-robed Taoist appeared did all the disciples in attendance bow in respect, "Head of the Academy!"

There were not many Taoists in Fenglin City who were entitled to wear the Teng-long black robe, and among them was Dong Ah, head of the Fenglin Taoist Academy. Legend had it that he had once cultivated in Zhuang Country's capital, Xin'an City, and due to his upright and impartial nature, offended some powerful nobles and was consequently assigned to Qinghe County's Fenglin City.

With a sorrowful look on his face, Ling He remained silent. He knew well Jiang Wang's swordsmanship; it could be said that before officially starting to practice Dao Techniques, no one in the external academy was a match for him, Fang Pengju included.

But since Jiang Wang had proposed a Taoist testimonial duel, it meant there was no solution to his grievances. With the arrival of the academy head, Fang Pengju either had to fight to the death or allow the Fenglin Taoist Academy to step in and investigate the matter of Jiang Wang being ambushed.

However, how could Fang Pengju withstand an investigation by the Taoist Academy?

Thus, in fact, he had no choice.

Under countless gazes of doubt, scorn, or anger, Fang Pengju's face still showed no signs of panic, "Third Brother, must we truly draw swords against each other?"

Jiang Wang said indifferently, "The one who led us to this point is you, not me."

"How can I make you trust me?"

"I've already paid with my life once for this trust. Now, more words are of no use. The Fang Pengju I remember was not a coward who dared not accept a challenge."

Fang Pengju remained unmoved, "Are you so confident that you can kill me?"

Jiang Wang looked at him calmly, "It doesn't hurt to try."

Fang Pengju stared at him for a long while, then suddenly burst into laughter, "It's a pity you cannot kill me. Our duel cannot take place. Because just two days ago, my Dao veins began to manifest, one could say I am already an inner court disciple! We are no longer on the same level, how can we fight a duel?"

Saying this, he stood upright and fully stimulated his Dao veins. Everyone present could sense an aura rise from his spine like a great dragon, invigorating his spirit. This indicated that he had manifested his Dao veins, and his flesh body could reflect the birth of Path Origin, officially possessing transcendent powers.

The Taoist Sect had long established specific standards for duels. Among them, an important one was that anyone could refuse a duel across different levels unconditionally. This was to protect lower-grade cultivators from being humiliated by those of higher grade. But at this moment, it became Fang Pengju's excuse to avoid the duel.

Although he had manifested his Dao veins, it hadn't been long, and he hadn't even started practicing Dao Techniques, so his strength hadn't fundamentally increased, hence he still had no confidence in facing Jiang Wang.

Jiang Wang fell silent.

He silently watched Fang Pengju, his emotions complex.

Then he slowly spoke, "For this Channel-opening Pill, I ventured alone into West Mountain with a single sword, fighting bloodily to break through the bandits' stronghold. In that battle, I sustained thirteen wounds, two of them fatal."

"To maximize the effects of the Channel-opening Pill, I planned to wait for my body to recover to its peak state before using it. I know the risks of possessing a valuable item, hence I never told a soul. Everyone thought I would consume the pill the very day I got it, except for you, except for the five brothers who went through life and death with me. Because there was nothing I needed to hide from you."

"From the age of five, when I entered the world of cultivation, I have been pursuing this Channel-opening Pill. I wasn't born with Natural Dao Veins, to transcendence, I could only rely on medicinal pills. It was the path of my cultivation, my hope, my only light. You know the situation of my family, you know how hard I've worked. I practiced swordsmanship before dawn and rested only when the moon was high in the sky. I never visited brothels or indulged myself in any way. In the entire Maple Forest Taoist Sect, I dare say no outer sect disciple worked harder than me. For this Channel-opening Pill, I've strived for a full eleven years!"

As Jiang Wang spoke, he also stared intently at Fang Pengju, "My Channel-opening Pill, nurtured with my sweat, my blood, my tears, was it good to use?"

The scene was silent for a moment.

Ling He pursed his lips tightly, Zhao Rucheng gritted his teeth in silence, and even a man like Du Yehu had tears welling up in his eyes.

Indeed, who didn't know of Jiang Wang's obsession, exhaustion, and suffering?

Yet Fang Pengju had the heart to do such a thing!

"I don't know what nonsensical things you're talking about!" A trace of discomfort flashed across Fang Pengju's face, but he quickly suppressed it, "My uncle led a caravan through Yun Country earlier this month, and happened to buy a Channel-opening Pill from a cultivator who was in dire need of money. Because of that, my Dao veins were able to manifest. What does that have to do with you? Don't think everyone is born as poor as you, desperate for progress by any means! The Fang Family has vast wealth, can't we afford a Channel-opening Pill?"

Zhao Rucheng was filled with hatred and his words were sharp, "Yes, the Fang Family is indeed wealthy. It's a pity your parents died early, and as you're not the sole heir of the Fang Family, the resources allocated to you have always been limited. Otherwise, why couldn't you have a Channel-opening Pill for such a long time, yet so coincidentally have one after my third brother was attacked?"

"What a coincidence. I can only say, too coincidental!" Fang Pengju's eyes gleamed coldly, "Don't speak of things without evidence. Out of respect for our brotherhood, I won't hold this against you. But if there's a next time, as an inner court disciple, I will make you understand the order of seniority and subordination!"

"You!" Zhao Rucheng was furious.

Du Yehu gnashed his teeth so hard, it seemed he wanted to smash Fang Pengju's handsome face with his fist if not for the presence of the sect leader.

Only Jiang Wang seemed calm, "Fang Pengju, I've told you. You're too arrogant, too self-righteous, and often, because of that, you overlook the truth. I've taught you, why haven't you learned?"

"Why don't you think about it, if a Dao proof duel can't be established, then why would Sect Leader Dong Ah be here?"

He took a step forward, also stimulating his Dao veins. The small worm in his spine's great dragon began to wriggle vigorously, and his entire being became as sharp as a sword, as straight as a sword!

"That's because I, too, have manifested my Dao veins and officially possess the possibility of transcendency!"

"We are on the same level, and you dare not let the sect leader investigate. Therefore, the duel is on!"

At the same time Fang Pengju's face turned to shock, Sect Leader Dong Ah already waved his sleeve.

Right at the Taoist Sect's entrance, right beneath the feet of Jiang Wang and Fang Pengju, suddenly a sapling broke through the soil and grew crazily in a few breaths, turning into a huge wooden stake that lifted both of them up while keeping the other outer sect disciples outside.

The top of the wooden stake seemed to have been cut flat by a sharp tool, spanning ten steps in each direction. From afar, it looked like a wooden circular stage. Only around the "stage," branches swayed gently.

Fang Pengju was certain that if he attempted to flee, those seemingly harmless branches would turn into ferocious beasts.

Jiang Wang's hand was already on the hilt of his sword, ready to strike.

With a simple gesture, Dong Ah twisted a branch to coil around the sword that Fang Pengju had previously thrown on the ground, tossing it up onto the high platform.

Fang Pengju caught it with his hand.

In front of the Taoist statue whose face could never be clearly seen, Dong Ah, a Grade-5 power from the Inner Mansion Realm, declared indifferently, "Dao proof death duel, begin!"