New Scene Feng Wen Pov. Chapter 15

FENG WEN

Wen squinted as he studied the Second Young Master. His eyes focused on the wooden practice sword in his hand. Wen tilted the sword back and forth even as he read the qi in the air. Having long since stepped beyond the Second Realm, the second core within his mind enhanced his connection to the world.

The change to Sai’s qi wasn’t subtle. It looked like his own mastery over qi had at his age.

Sai reminded him of himself in so many ways.

They said that the greatest of cultivators carried divine providence inherited by the rulers of the world. Before, the qi had barely moved in response to the mild fluctuation in the world imposed on it by Sai’s Will.

Now it buckled and bent. He drank power from the air like a thirsty dog desperate for a tiny puddle.

Sai had asked him to spar with him once again; something they hadn’t done in years. He wouldn’t tell Wen the nature of the legacy he obtained, nor of the other world he had visited. It sent a great pain through Wen’s heart.

It was about time the young man caught on to the full truth of his birth. It was a process Wen was hoping to avoid for years more — until Sai was fully developed.

Young men weren’t meant to wield such great power over life and death. Wen should know; exceeding the Third Realm in his teens had forever altered his outlook on the world. But he couldn’t take back the wake of blood he had left behind.

“I would be able to serve you better if you told me the nature of the legacy you’ve inherited, Young Master.” Wen prodded once again. It had only been a day since the incident within the mine. The entire city was on high alert.

“In time.” The young master said.

He was forcing his voice to sound calm, Wen knew. Wen knew him better than anyone.

But the young master was more troubled than he had ever been. Even more troubled than the first time he had taken a life.

Wen lifted his sword in one hand, the other hand extended. In the early realms, this sword form, passed down only to Scions of the Grim Tempest, left them with a dozen vulnerabilities.

In time, it would instead provide opportunity, as the wind itself became another of their cultivator’s weapons.

Wen lifted his sword to match. His other arm danced with suppressed power, the air in the room shifting around it.

Sai shot forward.

Their wooden swords cracked as they met in midair.

Again, again, again. The Young Master was ever so slightly faster. He had always fought like a demon.

Sai danced away as he finished the first sword form. He lifted the wooden blade and pointed it at Wen again. His eyes were alight with fire. Alight with rage.

Wen didn’t know at what.

They clashed again, this time their swords flowing with wind-qi. Each time their blades met, wind whipped over Wen’s robes and threw his beard back.

“It’s not enough.” Sai said as he pulled back again.

“The legacy, Young Master?” Wen asked.

“If I were presented an opportunity at godhood, should I take it?” Sai asked suddenly.

Wen lowered his sword and contemplated.

“How much would you lose in gaining divinity?” Wen asked. “Would you still be Feng Sai?”

Sai contemplated that.

“Would you take a path to divinity? If all it took was hard work?”

“Yes.” Wen said without remorse. “I would carve a better tomorrow out of the struggles of today.”

Sai seemed to come to a decision. He lifted his sword again and dashed forward.

Wen readied himself to block — but then Sai suddenly doubled in speed. He shot towards Wen’s left flank, bringing his sword down. Wen felt his eyes widen, grasping the qi in the air all around him at once to push himself forward.

The qi seemed to struggle to reach him, as if a sphere around him had been cut off from the world. Wen, on reflex, forced himself to move even faster. But then Sai accelerated again, suddenly four times as fast.

Wen stopped himself before he moved faster than a Foundation Establishment cultivator should move.

The wooden sword stopped an inch from Wen’s neck.

The world moved normally again.

“Well done, young master.” Wen said.

He eyed Sai’s heaving chest and the sweat on his face even as he felt at the dark, ominous qi in the room, and wondered what that single instance of speed had cost him.

Wen prayed above all else that the cost wasn’t tallied against Sai’s humanity.