Interlude: Cousins II

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Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

As soon as Liu Jin left, Xiao Fang had stormed out of the room. Neither Xiao Nan or Elder Hui had gotten the chance to say a word to him. The Young Master of the Xiao Sect had retired to one of the meditation chambers. Incense burned in one of the corners of the room, yet it did not help him focus.

There was not a single scratch on Xiao Fang’s body. Unlike Liu Jin, he had barely been sweating when their spar ended. If he was breathing hard when he started to meditate, it was only due to his emotional state. Just by looking at him, most people wouldn’t be able to tell he had been in a fight.

However, Xiao Fang was the one who had lost.

Even though Xiao Fang hadn’t taken a single hit. Even though his cultivation level surpassed that of his opponent’s. Even though he had received the best instruction the Xiao Sect could give him since the day he was born…

The one who lost was him.

“You should not frown so much. It’ll only damage your good looks.”

“I thought I said I wanted to be alone, cousin.”

Xiao Fang forced his voice to remain calm as Xiao Nan entered the room, but deep down, he wanted to scream in rage. He wanted to lash out and break things.

How could he have lost to Liu Jin!

At that moment, there was nothing Xiao Fang wanted more than to take out his frustrations on the world around him. However, such a thing would be unseemly. He was the Xiao Sect’s Young Master.

No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t afford to act in such a childish way.

“You did say that, but the time when I have to listen to your orders is not yet here, cousin.”

Xiao Fang’s teeth gnashed against each other. Xiao Nan’s voice was completely free of worry. How typical. Worry was probably a foreign concept to Xiao Nan. Xiao Nan was someone who could do no wrong. A prodigy among prodigies.

Not like him.

“Are you really so angry over your loss?”

“Of course, I’m angry!”

Xiao Fang’s forced calm shattered in an instant. The child hit the floor with enough force for his fist to go right through it. The look on his face grew thunderous as he glared at Xiao Nan.

“I lost a fight I had no reason to lose! I was stronger, faster, and more skilled than Liu Jin!”

Xiao Fang’s Qi blazed as his anger engulfed the room with all the force of a hurricane, yet Xiao Nan bore it with a serene look on his face, as though it was nothing more than a gentle breeze. A mellow hum left his mouth as he sat beside Xiao Fang.

“I guess that is not a bad reason to be angry. Of course, it must be said the conditions of the fight were not ones that favored you. Defeating someone in three moves is not as easy as it sounds. You were arrogant to accept a condition like that.”

Was he?

Xiao Fang furiously fought off that thought.

His opponent was someone who had been in the Inner Realm for more than a year and a half. When one took that into account, the conditions of the fight were ones that gave Xiao Fang an overwhelming advantage!

How could someone in the middle stages of the Nascent Realm have any trouble against someone who was barely in the Inner Realm?

“You’re probably thinking something dumb right now.”

Xiao Fang glared with fulminating intensity, yet Xiao Nan remained unmoved.

“You are, aren’t you? In that case, let your dearest cousin tell you something good. There are three reasons you lost today.”

Three reasons?!

“Number one,” Xiao Nan said, raising a finger. “You foolishly assumed your enemy would not grow stronger. ‘He’s been in the First Level of Inner Realm for a year and a half, so even if given another year and a half, he won’t grow any stronger.’ You were thinking of it like that, weren’t you?”

Xiao Fang’s silence was answer enough.

“Foolish!” Xiao Nan snapped at him, much to Xiao Fang’s surprise. “The people around you will not remain static while you live your life! A worm can become a dragon. A dragon can become a worm. Do not allow yourself to be ruled by meaningless preconceptions!”

Xiao Fang wanted to defend himself, yet the seriousness in his cousin’s eyes made it hard for him to talk.

This was not his easy-going cousin speaking.

This was Xiao Nan of the Xiao Sect, a prodigy among prodigies. He was someone who had distinguished himself through numerous achievements and was one of the few people Father trusted implicitly.

“The second reason you lost is due to your poor temper.” Another finger was raised to join the first. “The moment things didn’t go the way you thought they would, you panicked.”

“I did not—”

“You panicked.” Xiao Nan repeated. His tone brooked no argument. “You lost focus and couldn’t recover, no matter how much you tried to pretend you had. You kept trying to end the fight instantly instead of wearing down your opponent using the two moves you had available to you.”

Was that… had he done that?

No. Trying to win with the second move had not been a mistake. Void Fist should have—

“You lost the fight the moment you tried to use Void Fist.” Xiao Nan’s voice cut through his thoughts. His cousin sighed. “Using Ground Contraction to catch Little Brother by surprise might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but it was a foolish move. You are Xiao Fang of the Xiao Sect. There is not a single person in the Xiao Sect who does not know you’re capable of using that technique.”

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

“So what?” Xiao Fang fired back. “Even if the enemy expects it, as long as my technique is good enough, it shouldn’t matter!”

“Then why did you lose?”

“…”

“Little Brother knew you would use Ground Contraction. However, you did not know Little Brother mastered Ground Contraction during the past year. You did not bother to research your opponent. While Little Brother anticipated your move, you were completely unprepared for his. In your panicked stated, you dared to use Void Fist.”

“My technique was perfect!”

True, he hadn’t been in the best position to use Void Fist, but he still had managed it. His blow had struck Liu Jin head-on. Even if Liu Jin was in the Seventh Level of the Inner Realm, he shouldn’t have been in such a good condition after receiving that attack.

He shouldn’t have been conscious at all!

Xiao Nan sighed again. His cousin ran a hand through his hair. “As expected, you still haven’t noticed it.”

“Huh?”

“Look at your arms.”

Though confused by the request, Xiao Fang rolled up his sleeves. The moment he did, his eyes grew wide with shock.

“What is this?!”

Green.

His forearms had green-ish marks on them. They almost looked like bruises, yet Xiao Fang felt no pain from them.

He didn’t feel anything at all.

“Finally starting to understand?” Xiao Nan asked. He placed his elbow on one of his knees and rested his head on his palm. “You were so emotional during the fight that you missed it completely. Had you been able to keep a calm head, you would have noticed the numbness in your arms much earlier.”

Even as his cousin spoke, Xiao Fang kept examining his arms. There was a strange numbness spreading through them. That meant…