He Yu took in the sight before him. Dong Wei hadn’t changed much in the past fifteen years. His robes were of far finer make than He Yu remembered, but most noticeable was his cultivation. He made no effort to hide it—such as it was.

  Somehow he’d advanced to the early Body Refining stage. Which likely explained why he appeared to have not aged a day in the past decade and a half. Despite the reaching the Third Realm, Dong Wei was far from reaping its full benefits. He barely had a presence to speak of—just the vague, almost imperceptible sensation of a slight wood-aligned aspect. Probably the only aspect he could cultivate in any decent quantity, rather than the result of wood-aligned cultivation art.

  He still appeared old and somewhat frail. He Yu knew Shulin’s resident cultivation “expert” would be stronger than any mortal in town, but he’d have been nothing but free resources for even the laziest of outer disciples at the Shrouded Peaks Sect. He was even more pathetic than He Yu remembered.

  “Still, you have no respect for your betters, it seems,” Dong Wei snapped. “You should kowtow before me, unless you’re so pathetic you can’t even sense my advancement.”

  Chen Fei joined He Yu in front of the forge. “Who’s this?” she asked. “And why is he trying to threaten you?”

  “I have been given authority over Shulin by Lord Xin. Barbarian that you are, you may call me Magistrate Dong.”

  “Oh, him.” Without another word, she went back inside.

  Dong Wei’s face turned red. “Come back out here, trash!” he shouted.

  As Dong Wei stomped towards the forge, He Yu stepped in front of him. “You should leave before things get out of hand,” he said.

  “You think I would listen to you? Just like your father, you had to return from the sect with your tail between your legs like a whipped dog. At least you had someone of superior talent go with you, so that everyone could see how pitiful you were. I’m sure once they saw Sha Xiang’s ability—my student’s ability—they threw you out like the trash you are. Just like they threw out your father.”

  He Yu could hardly believe it. Was that the root of all of it? He peered at Dong Wei with the judgment of an emperor. He saw envy. Humiliation and resentment. Suddenly, it all made sense.

  Dong Wei had been passed over for acceptance into the Shrouded Peaks Sect. He Gang hadn’t. But by his own admission, He Gang hadn’t possessed the talent, and had been thrown out when he failed to reach Foundation in time. Upon his return to Shulin, Dong Wei had taken it as evidence of his own superiority. That was the seed of the grudge that had made him refuse to teach He Yu. The seed that he’d transferred to Sha Xiang when he’d seen that she hated He Yu for her own, unrelated reasons.

  He couldn’t help but laugh. The absurdity of it was too much for him. The only reason he’d advanced as far as he had was, in a sense, because of Dong Wei’s stupid grudge against his father. If he’d not been so desperate to prove himself, he’d never have awakened himself into the Qi Gathering stage. He’d never have gone into the woods, and never met Zhang Lifen.

  If not for Dong Wei’s stupid resentment against his father, Sha Xiang never would have come to the sect either. He Yu had long since realized Zhang Lifen had brought her along simply to push him. And push him, she had. Struggling against her pointless aggression in those early days had allowed him to reach Foundation as quickly as he had. Having to catch up to her had pushed him in the tournament. It had allowed him to best her and stand against Tan Xiaoling as a near equal. Her attack on his friends had been the key that pushed him to Golden Core.

  “You dare mock me?” Dong Wei demanded. His spirit spread out from him, a weak and feeble thing that barely weighed upon the world. Even by the standards of the Third Realm, Dong Wei was a nobody.

  “You’re too quick to take offense where none exists,” He Yu said. “One day, you’ll overstep your bounds. You’re lucky you live in a place like Shulin, where nobody of consequence ever comes. You’re lucky Master Zhang’s hand was stayed by order of the sect elders. You’re lucky I have no interest in bullying those weaker than myself.”

  Now it was Dong Wei who laughed. A half-cackle, lacking in mirth, echoed through the morning air. “Master Zhang? You can’t be serious. If you’re discipled to a peak Golden Core, your master isn’t worth their rank in the sect. Your spirit is no different when it left. After I teach you a lesson, I’ll teach that barbarian inside to remember her place, too. Then I’ll finally put your father in his!”

  The thought that Dong Wei still seemed to think the Shrouded Peaks Sect remained was something He Yu put aside for later. He was growing tired of the older man’s boasting, and he couldn’t allow threats like that to remain. “My spirit is no different? You’re truly a fool, Dong Wei. It’s common courtesy to keep one’s presence restrained in the company of mortals, lest you crush them with your power. But that’s a lesson you never had to learn now, was it?”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “You call me weak?” Dong Wei said. He made a fist and stepped forward. “Beg for mercy, trash.”

  “Or you’ll what?” He Yu kept his voice even. It was only from nearly twenty years of cultivation that he remained calm. Even so, his temper threatened to break free despite his best efforts. A gentle wind picked up and tugged at his robe, and the faint scent of fresh rain filled the air.

  The punch Dong Wei threw at He Yu’s jaw flowed like a river of mud. For what seemed like an eternity, He Yu watched the fist inch closer. When it finally connected, it may as well have been a feather. Infinitely foolish and ignorant, Dong Wei only redoubled his fury when He Yu didn’t so much as flinch.

  “Coward! Take your beating with honor! Whatever body enforcement you have, it won’t save you forever. You couldn’t be more than Foundation by now. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were still at Qi Gathering for all the meager talent you have!”

  “Wrong,” He Yu said. “I’m so far beyond you or anyone you’ve ever met that you can’t even see the mountain upon which I stand.”

  Dong Wei’s laughter rang out for a moment before abruptly dying on his lips. He Yu’s presence crashed over the town of Shulin, but he kept himself limited to early Golden Core in potency. There were mortals here, and he wouldn’t inadvertently harm them when making an example of an upstart like Dong Wei. Still, Dong Wei collapsed to his knees under the weight of He Yu’s presence, just as he had all those years ago before Zhang Lifen.

  “You will leave now,” He Yu said. “Forget you saw me, and leave my father in peace. Chen Fei and I will depart from Shulin soon enough, and you can go back lording over your insignificant little patch of the southern forest. But know this—unlike my shifu, I am under no obligation to show you mercy. As I said, I have no interest in bullying those weaker than myself. That is the only reason you yet live. Any other cultivator of my stage wouldn’t have shown a fraction of the restraint I have.”

  A paper talisman appeared in Dong Wei’s hand. He looked up at He Yu from where he kneeled in the dirt. “Lord Xin will put you in your place,” he forced out. The talisman flashed, then vanished.

  He Yu hauled Dong Wei to his feet and pulled him so that he was nose to nose. From inches away, he stared into the old man’s eyes. “What was that talisman?” he demanded.

  “Your death!” Dong Wei spit in He Yu’s face. “Lord Xin put out a bounty for you. I’d hoped one day to collect it myself, but I’ve no doubt he will reward me for giving him the opportunity to end you after all this time. And after you and that barbarian of yours are dealt with, I’ll finally settle things with your father!”

  It was too much. The insults, the threats, the disrespect. He Yu had given this man every conceivable chance to walk away. Every opportunity to let things be. But Dong Wei had spit on him, then threatened his father. He’d shown so much more restraint than Dong Wei deserved.

  He slammed a fist into Dong Wei’s gut, injecting a spike of heaven qi into his dantian. As He Yu released his grip, Dong Wei staggered back, shock and fear and rage doing battle on his features. His cultivation base went wild, its barely aspected qi surging out from Dong Wei’s ruined dantian. The older man fell to the ground and screamed as his own cultivation base along with He Yu’s qi ripped apart his meridians. As his future as a cultivator was ended forever.

  He Yu loomed over him. “Consider yourself fortunate. You court death, Dong Wei, yet I have shown you mercy you don’t deserve. Never forget this lesson.”

  “Lord Xin will destroy you. He has reached the Nascent Soul stage! He’ll kill you, that woman you have with you, then he’ll track down and punish your pathetic excuse for a father.” Even as he hurled threats and insults, Dong Wei crawled away from where He Yu stood.

  He Yu let him go. He went back inside the forge where his father looked on, a grim set to his features.

  “He’s right, you know,” He Gang said as he watched Dong Wei finally get to his feet and hobble off. “Lord Xin isn’t known for his mercy.”

  “I know,” He Yu said. “I have a pretty good idea of who he is, especially if he declared me an outlaw, and not anyone else I associate with.” He produced a handful of what coins he had, along with some low-grade spirit stones and a few mid-grade ones. Mortal wealth meant little to him, and he could always trade some low grade stones for more coins than he could ever use. “Take these. It should be enough to get you away from Shulin for good. The roads are still maintained, so you’ll be safe. Those stones will be enough to take you to Foundation, at least. Possibly even to Body Refining. When I’ve done what I need to do, I’ll find you.”

  “I can’t take this,” He Gang said, attempting to push the pile of near-inconceivable wealth back to He Yu.

  “Please, with all respect, don’t argue with me. I don’t know if this Lord Xin will seek vengeance on you or not, but I don’t want to take chances. Either way, it’ll be a long time before I can return. I want to see you again, if I can.”

  “Where are you going?” He Gang asked. “What are you going to do?”

  He Yu turned to the northeast. “I’m going to deliver justice,” he said. “For my sect, for Elder Cai, for all my brothers and sisters who fell. But I have to get stronger first.”

  He Gang scooped the stones and coins into his apron. “Be safe, Yu’er.”

  Chen Fei handed He Yu his new guandao. It was a work of art and a treasure worthy of a legend. He wished he had the words or the means to thank his father properly. Sending the weapon to his storage treasure, he turned to his father. He bowed deeply over a salute. “I will find you one day, I promise.”

  Already he could feel the approaching mass of heaven and flame. The feeling of a long stoked fury. Chen Fei glanced at him as they let Shulin vanish behind him—she could feel it, too.

  When they were a suitable distance away, far enough they wouldn’t inadvertently call attention to the village itself, they both unleashed their presences. The storm and the mountain crashed over the southern forest. They both turned east, and with their cultivation bases blazing a beacon for a hundred miles in every direction, they fled as fast as they were able. Right now, the only thing that mattered was getting as far away from Shulin as they could manage.

  It was late afternoon when Xin Lu finally caught up with them. Like a blazing comet, he slammed into their path, igniting a circle of trees and earth with his furious manifestation. Clad in an ornate suit of lamellar, a satisfied grin tugged at Xin Lu’s lips as He Yu stopped, and produced his new weapon. It seemed the guandao would receive a baptism in flames.

  “I have waited too long, Sect Brother He,” Xin Lu said, his double halberd falling into his grip.