Chapter 263: World

~~~

Countless childhood memories flash through Liu Jin’s eyes. The many times Xiao Nan escorted him and his father so they could gather herbs outside Eastern Port City, how Xiao Nan protected him from the other disciples of the Xiao Sect when he joined, the trip to New Moon Town, all those times Xiao Nan gave him advice without him even needing to ask. Throughout Liu Jin’s childhood, Xiao Nan was always there for him.

That is why Liu Jin cannot believe his eyes.

The Xiao Nan he knew would never let himself look so dirty and disheveled. The Xiao Nan he knew was not a Renegade.

The Xiao Nan he knew is supposed to be dead.

“Elder Brother?” Liu Jin asks hesitantly.

Xiao Nan turns towards him, but he is not looking at him. His eyes are unfocused. Lost. His muscles twitch erratically. His head moves in sudden jerks,

“What’s this?” Xiao Nan yells. His aura is wild. It bristles with hostility, no different from a cornered animal. It is completely unlike the calm Elder Brother that Liu Jin knew growing up.

“Elder Brother!” Liu Jin repeats. The force of his presence forces Xiao Nan’s eyes to fully focus on him.

“Li…Little Brother?” Xiao Nan’s voice is rough, as if he had been yelling for a long time. “No… That’s not possible.”

Liu Jin’s brain scrambles to find a way to explain things.

Then he remembers he doesn’t have to.

“It is,” he says, and his words are the words of a Divinity. There is no room for discussion or doubt.

There is only undeniable certainty.

“Little Brother…” Xiao Nan repeats. His face softens. His Qi calms down. A tear shines in his eyes. “How… It’s been so long…”

Liu Jin’s heart bleeds at the sight. Elder Brother Xiao Nan should not look so miserable, so wounded, so lost. Xiao Nan was always smiling, always exuding such effortless confidence it was almost contagious. When one was with him, it was impossible not to feel safe.

“I thought you were dead…” Liu Jin says. “I thought…”

Liu Jin trails off. The sadness welling up in his eyes dries up as a roaring bonfire of anger overtakes it. Thunder howls in the distance as Liu Jin turns his eyes to the one behind it all.

“You!” He hisses. His eyes pin Bright Sword in place. His presence holds him between his claws. He’s so frail. One squeeze is all it would take. “What did you do?”

All this time…

All this time!

Ever since the fall of Eastern Port City… All those times he talked with Bright Sword… Xiao Nan had been in his pocket the entire time!

“I cannot let you go further.”

The Wandering Wind cuts his influence. Bright Sword falls to his knees behind her.

“Move,” Liu Jin says. The weight of his words falls over the entire area, causing the Heaven Realm cultivators around them to stumble. Liu Jin grimaces as he forcefully diminishes his influence.

His words are no longer just words.

“I will not.”

“I was not asking,” Liu Jin says. He glares at the Wandering Wind with lightning in his eyes. Their auras crash against each other.

“Naturally,” the Wandering Wind says, “and I was not merely just replying. You know this.”

Liu Jin wants to scream.

He could create an opening if he uses enough power. However, doing so would seriously hurt everyone around him, and the Wandering Wind knows that. Just by standing against him, she’s preventing him from reaching his goal.

“Elder Brother,” Liu Jin says to Xiao Nan. “I promise we’ll talk after this all over.”

Liu Jin does not wait for his reply. There is no time. He quickly cedes control of his body back to the Storm Dragon. Only he is qualified to fight against the Wandering Wind.

“Very well,” the Storm Dragon says. “You claimed you would not lose to me. Prove it.”

The Wandering Wind smiles as her wind envelopes them both, twisting the dimensions around them and leading them into an alternate space. It is only in places like this that beings such as they can fight freely. Otherwise, too many people would die, and too many maps would need to be redrawn.

“It will be my pleasure, Ancient One,” the Wandering Wind says.

~~~

Xiao Nan blinks several times.

He wants to say this is a dream or some sort of trick. A divinity that looks like his little brother… That’s too outlandish to be true. However, that’s just the thing. This is all too unbelievable. No one would bother orchestrating a scenario like this. Not even his own mind.

Besides…

The air against his face…the ground under his feet…the Qi around him…It all feels authentic.

This is no trick.

It’s an opportunity.

“YOU!”

Xiao Nan roars as he lays eyes on his tormentor. The power of a Renegade Realm cultivator rises around him. It is wild and violent, twisting his face with rage. So much time trapped in that damnable pearl! There are so many threats at the tip of his tongue, so many insults he has spent several nights perfecting.

It all fades away in a wave of rage.

Xiao Nan dashes with all his might towards Bright Sword. Holes appear randomly around the broken palace as he does.

Bright Sword brings his sword down.

A wall of ice blocks the attack before Xiao Nan can power through it. The unexpected interruption makes him pause, and the other cultivators immediately move to attack Bright Sword.

“I would think,” a woman who must clearly be a disciple of the Divine Frozen Place says, “that the prodigy of the Xiao Sect would know to act with greater prudence.”

“Prudence?” Xiao Nan laughs. How long has it been since he’s done that? “Try being a Renegade. Tell me how much prudence is left after you do.”

The woman inclines her veil-covered face. “Fair enough.”

“Wait…” Xiao Nan blinks when the full content of her words registers. “You know who I am?”

“I saw your match in the Crimson Cloud Tournament,” she says. “You performed well considering who your opponent was.”

A look of intense irritation crosses Xiao Nan’s face.

“Ugh!” He spits to the side. “Why does it have to be the match against Feng Zhuo?! That guy is incredibly annoying!”

“He really is,” agrees the woman. “However, as you are now, your cultivation should be higher than his.”

That gets Xiao Nan to smile. “Well, that’s one good thing to come out of this.”

“It pleases me that you have not completely lost your mind,” the woman says. “Though it annoys me to admit it, we could use your help. On a personal level, it would please me to get to know Little Shuang’s cousin.”

Xiao Nan wants to ask several questions, but he contains himself. He makes a promise to himself that there will be time for them later. He will guarantee it.

“Very well,” Xiao Nan says, reaching deep inside himself. He does his best to tune out the many feelings of the Renegade Realm and lets a single word reverberate to the core of his being.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Emptiness.

“This Xiao Nan shall assist you to the best of his abilities.”

~~~

He Bin and Nie Dan fight several miles above the clouds.

At such altitudes, oxygen is nearly non-existent, and the harsh light of the sun becomes increasingly dangerous. However, those are concerns for people much weaker than they. Breathing, food, sleep. Nie Dan and He Bin might occasionally indulge such things, but they have long grown past the need for them.

When they move, the heavens quake. The air howls as if fleeing in terror. The clouds beneath them cry as the aftershock of their attacks forces the water in the atmosphere down. They are no mere mortals who need to hide away from the elements. They are cultivators who have honed their craft for centuries.

It is the elements who need to fear them.

And yet, mighty as they are, even they pause when they sense the power of not just one but two cultivators in the Divine Realms.

“What in the world is that?” He Bin asks with a mystified look on his face. He does not expect a reply, but he receives it anyway,

“Something beyond my expectations,” Nie Dan says, his face set in a pensive frown.

“Your expectations?” He Bin laughs. “Oh, Nie Dan! If we had to list all the things that were beyond your expectations, we would never end. After all, you never once expected Murong Bang to die here, did you?”

“No,” Nie Dan admits. “I did not. However, that does not mean I regret my choice.”

“Always so stubborn,” He Bin shakes his head theatrically. “Was the idea of joining forces with me really so displeasing?”

“Is that really a question that needs to be asked?”

“Perhaps not,” He Bin says.

He strikes an instant later.

“Nevertheless!” He Bin says as he exchanges hits with Nie Dan. “I ask it!”