*Schwing Schwing*
An energised black chi slash flew at breakneck speed across the arena, and Yang Rong barely managed to duck. Yang Hui, on the other hand, had been too injured to move about much. His head fell to the ground and rolled down the broken garden pavement, with a look of shock edged onto his face. His body slowly fell to the ground, and blood from his neck stained the garden soil and brick path.
Meanwhile, the surviving brother placed his arms upwards in a blocking position while ensuring there was sufficient chi to break any follow up attack. However, the force of the next slash was so intense that it broke his chi barrier, causing him to be knocked back.
He was thankful that the impact allowed him to break out from the slash… until he found a sword pointing at his right eyeball. An inch? No, it was even closer. Probably less than a centimetre away. He felt that even blinking could cause him to lose his eyelid, forcing him to hold that involuntary movement.
“How did you manage to survive all the attacks and remain unscathed?” Yang Rong questioned in a barely audible whisper while he was trembling from the fear, focusing his will to not blink at all.
“The next words you utter from that prideful mouth of yours better be ‘I surrender’. Anything else or any type of other movement and I will stab you before you can try anything funny.” Jin declared decidedly. His tone made it clear that this was a non-negotiable ultimatum.
“Do y- ARGHHH” Yang Rong couldn’t help his character and tried acting out in defiance. Alas, Jin had not been joking. There was not the least bit of hesitation when he pushed his sword into his eyes and the sword plunged through the skull and out of it.
Everyone who was at the scene was terrified to see Jin act so cruel and Yuan Ba was holding on to his railings very tightly while enduring the gruesome scene. There was no way for him to interfere in the current fight unless he wished to throw in his platinum tiger chess piece as collateral. He wouldn’t do something so risky, at least not before he had figured out Jin’s way of fighting. It was just too risky to place a bet on and possibly his entire clan’s property.
“I already gave you a chance. You refused it.” Jin said to the Tiger Duellist as he took his Gunblade out and shot once more into the very same place he had injured Yang Rong previously. Immediately, the Ruby Fire explosion took effect and the Steel Fur Skin enchantment slowly dissipated.
Just then, the Godly Representative raised his hand to pass judgement as if he had enough of the Panda’s master sudden cruelty. Still, to his minions and colleagues, they believed it was justifiable since his one and only territory was at stake.
“The Panda Clan is victorious. The properties of Hu Yang Rong and Hu Yang Hui shall belong to Xie Jin with immediate effect. All profits and expenses shall be borne by the winner as of the coming hour. As the Heavens will it.” The Godly Representative then slowly turned to Jin with a sly eye.
“We will communicate with your super entity to transfer the deeds and accounts expenses. The rest of the documents that you need will be human formality and dealt with by the losing party. Extra compensation shall be arranged by the Tiger’s Clan Head as he fits and should you find it unsatisfactory, use your Super Entity to contact us. However, we doubt they would do that for they know the harsh punishment that followed through.” The Godly Representative sent a transmission, fully implying that it knew about the existence of the System.
“How does he know about you?!” Jin suddenly went on guard as the Godly Representative placed the feathered fan towards his face, and with the ring of a bell ring, the arena disappeared. (Just as he did.)
The remaining Roaring Tigers quickly moved towards the severely injured Yang Rong to check his pulse. Unfortunately, he was already on his last breath, cursing Jin’s name and vowing for revenge. Meanwhile, the dungeon supplier picked up his phone once more and it auto dialled to Yuan Ba.
“Shall I continue to clean up?” Jin asked. The question implied that Jin was ready to take on the Tiger Clan Head face to face if there were any more schemes waiting for him.
“You’ve done enough. I will transfer the full amount of money according to the guest list. Each and every one of them even if you did not clean them up. On top of that, the prize money meant for the Clan Meet will be given to you as promised. By tomorrow.” Yuan Ba answered in a straight tone, but Jin could hear a tinge of bitterness and reluctance within his voice.
The Panda Clan Young Master strongly believed that the Tiger Lord might be scheming to get back on him someday.
But at least not today.
“Well then, I hope the next time we meet, it will be under better circumstances. Oh yeah, I nearly forgot, but I wish you a good new year.” Jin said as he ended the call and nodded towards Yuan Ba silently.
The Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan Head returned to his office and made the arrangements to fulfil the Godly Representative’s directive. There were dire consequences when not following the duel’s proceedings and he’d rather lose those territories than suffer the wrath of the Godly Representative.
“Apologies Sir, but do you wish for me to prepare everything to resurrect Young Masters Yang Hui and Yang Rong immediately?” One of his main servants questioned him on the way.
“Later. Send them to the hospitals for checks first. I do not want them to come crying to me that they’ve become stupid or something like that. Do not disturb me for the rest of the day. Just put my dinner at the door when it is done.” Yuan Ba replied with a resigned voice.
“Understood Sir. As for that Panda Clan Young Master, do you need me to get the police to arrest them?” The main servant questioned.
“On what grounds?���� The Tiger Lord sounded a decade older. “He decided to play my game and revealed himself because he must have someone with high backing. Probably even much higher than me.” Just as Yuan Ba opened the door, he saw someone sitting at his guest’s chair.
“Good afternoon, Clan Head Yuan Ba.” Kong Rong greeted him with a tip of his round hat.
“Awfully rude to not come by the main door?” Yuan Ba asked, as if it was not enough headache for him to deal with the territory exchange, now he had to contend with one of the nation’s leading State Agents.
“I tried, but everyone seemed too occupied, so I decided to go by the side gate. Thankfully, one of your servants recognised me and kindly offered me in to have a seat first.” Kong Rong said as he removed his hat as a courteous move.
The main servant was shocked to see the first son of the Royal Zodiac Dragon Clan in the seat and quickly asked if he needed tea. Kong Rong kindly refused but thanked him for the offer, while Yuan Ba quietly closed his doors to begin the discussion with Kong Rong.
As for Jin? Without a word, his bodyguards began walking behind him, and they quietly escorted him to the exit of the Tiger Clan’s bloodied garden path. The rest of the surviving Roaring Tiger Cultivators kept their heads down as they heard the clobbering of the Pandas’ footwear through the paths.
There were no insults, no laughing or anything. Just silence and footsteps shuffling away into the distance. It was as if the massacre they had left behind was not out of spite, but rather just business.
And as their aura diminished with distance, Hao Pai finally took a breather and broke down. He did not cry, but rather fell into despair after taking in the sights of his dead comrades. The people he had sent into their meaningless deaths just to show off.
“I am sorry…I am sorry brothers.” Hao Pai mumbled as he stared at a bloodied sword near him. After much consideration, he used his chi to lift the sword up and sent it towards him, stabbing himself.
He knew there was no way of redeeming what had happened.
