Chapter 156: Clashing Gold

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The Bei Clan is one of the major powers within the Golden Fist Sect, which is one of the strongest Sect in the Crimson Cloud Empire. As such, every single one of its members enjoys considerable luxuries.

All over two hundred of them.

Bei Duyi and Bei Hong learned the Way of the Golden Fist just as every member of the Bei Clan does. Their grandfather carried them on his shoulders to show them how it feels to fly just as he does for every child born into the Bei Clan. That does not make them special. Their many cousins, uncles, and aunts all enjoyed those privileges as well.

Neither Bei Hong nor Bei Duyi comes from the main branch of the Bei Clan. Their grandfather is an Elder of the Golden Fist Sect, but he’s hardly the only Elder who belongs to the Bei Clan. Bei Hong and Bei Duyi have lived their lives knowing they have to bow their heads to the main family at every opportunity.

At least, Bei Duyi did.

“Do you realize how foolish you look right now, cousin?” Bei Duyi asks as he divests himself of his upper garments in preparation for their fight.

The two are standing in the temple’s courtyard. A small crowd of disciples has come to watch. They all make sure to give the fighters a wide berth to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Liu Jin, Lu Mei, and Fan Bingbing sit on an elevated platform, looking down on them from above.

“Foolish?” Bei Hong echoes, mimicking his actions. Of course, in Bei Hong’s case, his robes are so filthy they are the ones dirtying the ground by making contact with it. “You have been making trouble for me since I joined the Eternal Flame Clan and running from me at every turn! I finally have you in front of me! I should be thanking the Heavens at the top of my lungs! This time, it won’t be like it was in the Sparring Hall! There will be no interruptions!”

“You are surrounded by hostile fighters,” Bei Duyi points out. Slowly. As if speaking to a child. Something that Bei Hong forces him to do quite often. “Do you honestly expect a fair match?”

“Of course I do! Qing Jin is a fair man,” Bei Hong replies as if that should be obvious, looking at Bei Duyi like he was the slow one.

And on this one thing—and only on this one thing!—Bei Hong might be right. Qing Jin offered Bei Hong a fight without interruptions. There is no reason to think he will renege on that, not that Bei Duyi ever had any thoughts of relying on external aid to win.

However!

“That’s not the point, idiot! Think, Bei Hong! For once in your life, think! Do you ever pay attention to the conditions of the fights you agree to! If you lose here, you will have to surrender.”

“I know that,” Bei Hong says with rising impatience. “And I intend to keep my word.”

“And I know that! And Qing Jin knows that. What do you get by winning?”

Bei Hong opens his mouth.

He closes it.

He does this two more times until at last a thoughtful frown appears on his face.

“Huh.” He turns to Qing Jin with reluctant approval. “You bastard. Well played.”

Bei Duyi’s eyebrow twitches.

“Is that all you have to say?” He shouts, stomping his foot on the ground. “Well played?”

“What point is there in getting angry?” Bei Hong asks. “I was the one who accepted the conditions.”

“Be angry at yourself!” Bei Duyi says, shaking his fist at him. “If you will not be angry at anyone else, at least have the decency to be angry at yourself! Even in the unlikely event of your victory, there is no future for you! Do you honestly expect to take on everyone here and win through nothing but sheer grit?”

“Foolish cousin! I expected to do that from the start!” Bei Hong shouts. Gold coats his fist as he bangs it against his chest. “This just makes things easier.”

Bei Duyi takes a deep breath.

[Goldforged Body]

And socks Bei Hong in the jaw.

“Foolish, indeed!” Bei Duyi says as Bei Hong’s body goes flying. Gold quickly grows all over Bei Duyi’s body. “Why did I ever think my words should be wasted on you? I should have just hit you from the start!”

“Now, you’re speaking sense!” Bei Hong says he rises from the ground. Gold rises over his face and across his chest. Golden teeth glint under the sun as a savage grin appears on Bei Hong’s face. “Let’s go!”

The golden fighters collide in the center of the courtyard with a sound not unlike several gongs being struck simultaneously. Ferocious punches fly one after another. Their feet dig deeper and deeper into the ground as their exchange continues, neither one willing to concede even an inch.

For as long as Bei Duyi can remember, it has always been this way.

Bei Duyi was born less than two years before Bei Hong, practically nothing from the perspective of most cultivators. Still, that small gap has made a significant impact on their lives.

Despite not belonging to the main family, Bei Duyi was born in possession of a rare amount of talent. As a result, the rest of the clan gave special attention to him. Most parents would be overjoyed by their child’s good fortune. However, his father took Bei Duyi aside one day and gave him advice that would stay with him for the rest of his life.

“Do not outshine the main family. Not for their sake, but yours.”

Talent draws admiration from one’s peers. Talent also breeds resentment. Even as a young child, Bei Duyi understood precisely what his father was trying to tell him. If he shone too brightly, the main family might grow to resent him. He needed to act within the confines of his position and never overstep those boundaries. In that way, Bei Duyi became the model of what a talented son of the Bei Clan should be. Meek, dutiful, and respectful.

If Bei Hong ever received similar advice from his parents, he has done an excellent job pretending he never heard it.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Bei Duyi grits his teeth as a punch from Bei Hong rocks him back. Though they are using the same technique, Bei Hong’s [Goldforged Body] has always been superior to his in hardness and strength. Bei Hong’s time in the Dead Plains has only further honed those characteristics. Almost unreasonably so. Even his light jabs feel impossibly heavy now.

As soon as Bei Hong sees him stagger, he closes in to deliver a solid punch to Bei Duyi’s stomach. Three quick jabs to his throat follow before he tries to finish Bei Duyi with a punch to the face.

“You stupid idiot!” Bei Duyi yells out as he catches Bei Hong’s fist.

His golden body starts glowing.

Bei Hong screams as pure heat radiates from Bei Duyi’s body. It burns his hand and melts the earth around them. Even the air twists and turns like the inside of a furnace.

[Magnificent Molten Radiance]

Bei Hong’s defense is overwhelmed in an instant. Bei Duyi’s burning fist buries itself into Bei Hong’s stomach and sends him flying. The disciples part as Bei Hong’s body is launched out of the courtyard and crashes against a temple wall.

“Gold,” Bei Duyi says as he advances, melting the earth as he does, “is not an element of hardness.”

“And who decided that?”

Bei Hong gets up.

Of course, he does.