“You held back in the arena,” Feng accused as he sat up. Like Brother Dai, he had been resurrected without a stitch of clothing on his person. The vaulted robes of the Beheaded Phoenix Sect were completely consumed in the fire; a negligible loss, considering their ruined state after their battle anyway.

  “Did I?” Brother Dai scratched his chin with feigned confusion. “I would say the savage wounds you incurred were quite real, Young Master.”

  “And yet, I won our fight.”

  Hei Feng’s innate talents and advantageous upbringing placed him leagues above other cultivators in his Realm. Even opponents two or three Steps above him were not beyond his ability to defeat in a duel.

  But Brother Dai was at the pinnacle of the Third Realm. More than that, he was a martial savant who regularly duelled with Elders in the Fourth Realm and won. A situation where the Young Master — who was only at the Second Step of the Third Realm — ends up defeating him should have been an impossibility.

  “No doubt the results will speak favourably of your capabilities,” Brother Dai replied knowingly. “The Disciples who witnessed our clash here would spread the word of your victory. Soon, all the Sect and beyond will hear of the Young Master’s display of strength and prowess by defeating a vastly superior opponent, thereby bolstering your reputation further.”

  An elevation of his status, just in time for his wedding. A wedding where he was to be the spouse to the strongest ‘Disciple’ in the Province.

  A Disciple who was Heiress to the Split-headed Carnivores Sect, which had a reputation for raising beautiful but utterly voracious female cultivators who would devour their partners in bed should their advancement prove inferior.

  The Young Master laughed. “Senior Brother, my pride is not so fragile as to be disturbed by gossip and hearsay.”

  Feng had heard the rumours, of course. Whispers of his upcoming marriage and ‘impending doom’ had abounded across the entire Province since Lianshi surpassed his cultivation level three years ago. It escalated when she broke into the Nascent Realm at an unprecedented age while he was still within the Shaping Realm. The gossip had since devolved from minor ridicule and good-natured mocking to somewhat genuine pity and discomfort at his situation.

  The Disciples of the Split-headed Carnivores were not known for their restraint. For someone who has achieved such ludicrous heights of advancement at such youthful immaturity, the public must have thought Lianshi a rabid beast ready to devour the weaker Young Master whole on their wedding night.

  To those who actually knew Lianshi, the thought was laughable. But such individuals were far and few between, and so Feng must contend with hushed whispers and a general sense of unease directed to him from his Sect.

  “Your position as Clan Heir means the reputation of the entire Sect lies upon your shoulders, Young Master. It does not hurt to reassure the masses a little about your wedding night.” Brother Dai grinned at him. “Although, mind you, I bet most of the rumours that circulate are mainly a way for the cultivators and mortals around the mountain to vent their envy a little. You are, after all, not just marrying a beauty, but quite possibly the greatest beauty the Four Mountain Sects Group has ever seen.”

  Cultivation naturally makes one more attractive as they advance. Lianshi had always been striking to him, with her feral dark eyes and wild midnight-blue hair, but the years had turned her into something utterly exquisite and alluring. If not for the pre-arranged marital arrangement that their Clans had made when they were children, Lianshi’s sheer beauty would have caused her to be positively swarmed with engagement proposals by now.

  And that was not considering the value that her absurd cultivation standing would bring to her spouse as well. Her high level of advancement would prove to be an incredible boon to her partner’s development in future dual cultivation practices, and any children born from their union would almost assuredly inherit her superior genes and become a bright treasure of their Sect.

  The value of her hand in marriage had risen so sharply in just a few years that, were it not for Hei Feng’s position as Young Master, hordes of Core Disciples or even Elders within his own Sect would have challenged him for her engagement already.

  The situation was as frustrating as it was laughable. Half the people in the Province pitied him, while the other half either envied him or thought him unworthy. Amidst the words of congratulations and well wishes, there were no doubt those who thought Lianshi was wasted on someone like him. With her ability, she might even be able to secure a better alliance for her Sect by marrying into one of the more prominent Clans within the Inner Provinces.

  But to break her Clan’s marriage agreement now with the Beheaded Phoenix Sect would be a reputation death sentence, one that not even the prospective deals gained from an Inner Province Sect alliance could cover for. Unless both Lianshi and Feng agreed to cancel their engagement, this marriage was set in stone.

  And Lianshi would never break off the agreement, even if it might benefit her Sect to do so. The mere suggestion of it from her mother in one of their previous meetings between the two Clans had her threatening to renounce her Family name, much to the horror of everyone present (especially Feng).

  But Lianshi’s beauty or her stubbornness was not a matter that Feng was concerned about — for the moment, at least. It was Brother Dai who had his worry.

  “And yet, while my reputation might rise from this ‘battle’, yours would almost assuredly plummet, Senior Brother. This will not help with the… troubling rumours surrounding you already.”

  “You mean my inability to break through into the Fourth Realm,” his Senior Brother said evenly. “Bad enough that I had not progressed a single Step in cultivation for the last five years, or that the Sect had already wasted a vast amount of resources to try and get me through my bottleneck. If I can’t even hold on to my ‘title’ as the strongest Disciple, what worth am I?”

  “You will always be strong, Senior Brother,” Feng spoke out vehemently. “Any who questions that is a fool.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Ah, he had lost control for a second. The Young Master looked away in embarrassment when Dai laughed.

  “I am heartened to hear those words, Young Lord, but there’s really no need for you to worry. Such talks are natural to arise after my repeated failure to advance. That I have been constantly hiding from the rest of the Sect by assuming temple guard duties likely did not help matters. But why should I care for their words?”

  Brother Dai thumped a fist against his muscular chest, grinning broadly. “Unlike most of the other Core Disciples or Elders, I was born amidst the dirt and mud of a mortal village, rather than from within our revered Sect. My parents were humble farmers, not cultivators. I have clawed myself from nothing to where I am today; not just a Core Disciple, but the strongest Disciple of the venerable Beheaded Phoenix Sect! My achievement cannot be denied! Even if I do not ascend another step for the rest of my life, I am content.”

  Senior Brother Dai spoke those words with sincerity. No matter how Feng searched, even by carefully observing his qi, the Young Master could not detect even a single hint of discontent or falsehood.

  Could a cultivator, even one as great as Brother Dai, really be satisfied with his current lack of progress?

  It made no sense, yet Feng sensed no deception. In any case, it would be rude to question him further on the matter. The Young Master let it lie for now.

  “And so you thought to sacrifice your reputation to bolster mine.” Feng bowed his head. “A debt is owed. I will repay it.”

  “No need for that. You already did.”

  Senior Brother Dai pointed back towards the burning Sparring Hall behind him, which was now far beyond salvaging, even as more and more disciples and servants came to combat the flames.

  “Ah, yes. That.” The Young Master frowned. “I suppose that does clear the debt. Would you mind explaining why that was necessary?”

  “As if you don’t already know. You saw the state of the training hall’s ‘occupants’.” Brother Dai’s handsome face darkened into a frown. “Jun, that son of a whore, has turned the Sparring Hall into a tool for Sect politics.”

  “There is no need to insult the venerable Elder’s mother. I’m sure she was a perfectly fine woman.” Feng looked up towards the burning tower. “But harsh words aside, I agree with your assessment. Elder Jun should have moderated the violence long before the Disciples had descended into such unchecked Yang Bloodlust.”

  The Young Master had been busy with the wedding preparations, so he had not been involved with much of the Sect’s other internal affairs for a few months now. However, he had kept an ear to the ground, so he at least had a broad idea of what Elder Jun was trying to achieve here.

  The position of Duelling Overseer was not the greatest within the Sect, but it did come with certain benefits. Any who died within those halls became the responsibility of the Elder to handle.

  In other words, it was a place whereby the one in charge could obtain a steady supply of fresh corpses should he choose to encourage a culling of their Sect disciples by duelling.

  “I will have words with him later. There were other affairs I came here to settle with the Elder anyway,” Feng said. “But first, I want to thank you.”

  “Hmm? If it’s for letting you win the fight, don’t bother. You already—”

  “Not that. It was for letting me fight you at all.” Feng smiled. “You let me win, true. But you didn’t hold back completely. I still had to struggle for that victory, and it was not easy. It has been a very, very long time since I had fought that hard, or have been wounded that badly.”

  Lianshi always had to go easy on him, as a single errant strike or lapse of control from her could easily erase half his body if she were not careful. The other Core Disciples of the Sect likewise either could not give him a proper match or were too afraid of hurting him to commit fully.

  His duels with Senior Brother Dai were few but always a great challenge. Feng did not need to hold back at all; the opposite, in fact. If the Young Master did not fight with everything he had, the Senior Brother would utterly annihilate him, even as he held back just enough not to kill him.

  “I needed that fight, I think,” Feng admitted. “The last few months were stressful.”

  More than that, the Young Master could feel the clear benefits of their recent engagement.

  Tempering Realm, Third Step.

  He had just advanced his cultivation by another Step. The cause lay not solely within the battle, of course. Feng had been on the brink of qi maturation for months, though the catalyst needed to bring fruit to that maturation had eluded him for some time.

  And now, thanks to the violent battle with his Senior Brother, Feng had finally ascended another Step towards Immortality. And towards Lianshi.

  Though the gap between him and his Fiancée was still unfathomably vast, his spiritual progress still brought some comfort to his mind.

  Dai chuckled. “Well, I would be a shit older brother if I didn’t notice. Besides, I know you are still worried about your Fiancée, and—”

  Another voice interrupted him before he could finish.

  “Far be it from me to interrupt this session of brotherly bonding, but perhaps the two of you would rather put on some clothes first before continuing your conversation?”

  Dai’s expression turned black before he turned and spat a curse.

  “You again, whore.”

  The Beheaded Phoenix Sect, Part 1

  Located in the 103rd Outer Province State, the Beheaded Phoenix Sect is one of the four members of the Four Mountain Sects Group. As such, its monastery, family clans, and disciples command considerable respect within the northern region in which it resides. Like the other sects of the province, the Beheaded Phoenix Sect houses its namesake Divine Corpse within the heart of their mountain, where the decaying deity may enrich their surroundings with vital spiritual energy.

  Its members specialise in the use of fire techniques and primarily utilise Yang qi in their respective disciplines and roles. Due to the prevalence of Yang energy flowing within the Sect, the majority of the sect cultivators are male. The few female cultivators that are present are primarily the daughters or spouses of Clan Disciples who were raised within the monastery since birth, rather than recruited from outside the Sect. Even then, most are confined to auxiliary roles within the Medical Pavilion or the Apothecary, rather than allowed to chart their own path within the monastery.

  While basic fire techniques are numerous and varied, true power comes from utilising and mastering the Sect’s Divine Arts. Before the cultivators can access these arts, they must enter a direct communion with the Sect’s Corpse deity. This usually occurs in a ceremony that takes place during the newcomers’ inauguration into the Sect as Outer Disciples.

  The Sect is best known for its unique Divine Art, Headless Impure Resurrection. Revival techniques are exceptionally rare, even within the Inner and Core Provinces. Such is its incredible power that the Divine boon alone has helped the Sect catch the eye of Duke Kang, overseer of the North Gate, and by extension all the northern Outer Provinces.

  The magnanimous ruler has gifted the Sect the incalculable privilege of having permission to establish trade deals and Inner Province relations within the Duke’s lands, thereby securing the Beheaded Phoenix Sect’s status as the current most influential Sect among the Four Mountain Sects Group.

  – Excerpt from A Citizen’s Guide to the Flesh-Grafted Empire