Chapter 128 – Brothers

  While the insanity of battle was sweeping over the deck of the flying ship, Ren Qiu’s flames burned brighter than ever. His voice could be heard roaring even louder than Zhao Wuxian's.

  “Ren Sihan! Coward! Stop hiding and face me!”

  The fires surrounding him blazed outward in a storm, sending weaker demonic cultivators and flying beasts fleeing from the heat. His Qi surged, refined and steady at the 5th Level of Qi Condensation. His foundation was polished and strong by his year of bitter training.

  He had pushed himself to his limits, and each time he struck out with his Clan’s flame techniques, they carried the weight of his anger and the fury that drove him forward.

  But no matter how much he shouted, his half-brother refused to show himself. It wasn’t until he had struck down dozens of cultivators, burning them away, that a figure descended from the skies on the back of a black demonic beast through a narrow gap that had formed in the ship’s wards.

  A ripple of demonic Qi twisted the air, catching Ren Qiu’s attention before a figure landed on the deck. Ren Sihan was wearing the same black robes as his fellow Crimson Rebirth Sect members, but unlike the others who sported angry or greedy expressions, Sihan had a mocking grin on his face.

  Ren Sihan’s eyes gleamed with contempt as he slowly and calmly approached his half-brother.

  “You call my name as if you have some sort of grudge against me, Brother. Are you still so upset by your defeat at Grandfather’s celebration?” Ren Sihan called out, his voice as smooth as oil. He seemed completely unconcerned by the battle going on around them.

  For a moment, it seemed that only the two of them existed in the entire world.

  Ren Qiu’s teeth clenched, and his Qi erupted into an aura of fire that surrounded him, forcing everyone nearby to give him space. He pointed at Ren Sihan, and his face twisted with hatred and anger.

  “You betrayed our Clan. You turned your back on our blood, our ancestors, to grovel at the feet of monsters willing to harvest the lives of the weak and innocent for stolen power! You used a forbidden technique to increase your strength because you lack the talent and the willpower to achieve it yourself!”

  “I betrayed the Clan?” Ren Sihan chuckled, and he lifted his hand. Black-tinged flames curled around his fingers, tainted with demonic Qi.

  “There would need to be loyalty, from them and me, for a betrayal to occur. When have they ever given me my due? When did the Clan provide anything to me aside from scorn!? I chose the stronger path. Why cling to the Clan’s crumbling legacy, when power is here, offered freely for all those with the mental fortitude to seize it!?”

  Ren Sihan stepped forward, and his aura surged. Although he was in the 6th level of Qi Condensation, the disparity between him and Ren Qiu was sharpened by the visible flaws in his foundation.

  His Qi surged wildly, unstable but ferocious. It was like a river that threatened to flood it banks, spilling out uncontrollably. The deck beneath him quivered as Ren Sihan met Ren Qiu’s glare with one of his own.

  “You’re a fool, Brother. Even our grandfather could see the merit of joining the Crimson Rebirth Sect. Imagine what you could achieve if you did as well. Your talent, combined with the power granted by the Sutra. You could be unstoppable.”

  Ren Qiu’s response was to send a burst of flames toward Ren Sihan, who blocked it with his own blackened fire. The air hissed as red and black sparks filled the air around them. Both were pushed back, but neither yielded.

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  “You may be stronger than me, Sihan, but your foundation is rotted. Every step you take will crumble beneath you. You’ve already lost.” Ren Qiu spat, his eyes filled with hatred toward his half-brother.

  Ren Sihan sneered, and his voice was contemptuous as he pressed onward, sending his own flames forward.

  “Things are about to change, Brother! I know that your talent in the Clan’s techniques comes from your blood. Once I claim your blood essence for myself, my foundation will be made whole, and my path will outshine yours!”

  Their Qi flared again, and the clash between them was a storm in the middle of the chaos occurring on the deck of the flying ship.

  Ren Qiu’s roar shook the air as he unleashed another stream of the Ren Clan’s orthodox fire techniques, each sending arcs of searing flames that were met by Ren Sihan’s corrupted Qi.

  Ren Sihan laughed bitterly as his demonic Qi-fueled flames devoured Ren Qiu’s righteous fire. He edged closer, pushing his advantage and forcing his half-brother back step by step. His mocking grin turned vicious with triumph as he saw that he was winning.

  “You think that you were the only one training hard, brother? I’ve fought and killed each day to achieve this power. The Sutra is a path, but I am the one who walked it! But don’t fret, your blood will pave my way! You are nothing more than a stepping-stone beneath my feet!”

  Ren Qiu’s face twisted in rage, and his flames surged higher in defiance as the clash of their attacks sent sparks and embers spiralling all around them. His breathing was ragged, but his fire still surged defiantly against the tide of Demonic Qi his brother was sending against him.

  Ren Sihan’s eyes were bloodshot and wild as he suddenly howled. He forcefully ignited his very life essence, fueling his cultivation. His Qi, already unstable, roared like a broken dam as it surged beyond the limits of his Dantian.

  Blackened flames erupted around him, devouring the oxygen from the air with a heat so intense that Disciples and Demonic Cultivators nearby screamed as their robes caught fire from the collision.

  Ren Qiu’s face paled as he understood what his brother was doing.

  “You’re mad! You’ll destroy yourself by doing this long before you take a single drop of my blood!”

  But Ren Sihan only laughed, and it was clear that he was losing control of his mind and sanity.

  “I have never feared the abyss! It’s only by standing on its edge that can one seize greatness, to burn everything away in order to transcend to greater levels!” Ren Sihan’s body began to crack under the pressure of what he was doing, and patches of his flesh charred away as his own essence fueled the fire around him.

  Step by step, Ren Qiu was driven back as his own flames faltered beneath the endless tide of fire. With a desperate strike, he raised his arm to push back against it. He screamed in agony as his hand was consumed, reduced to ash in an instant.

  Ren Qiu’s body trembled as his strength began to fail.

  “Hah, do you see, Brother? I am only a breath away from victory!” Ren Sihan shouted, his voice hoarse, but his face had a triumphant expression. He stepped forward, the flames searing the deck, making his victory seem all but certain.

  But then, the fire around Ren Sihan flickered.

  The black flames sputtered and collapsed in on themselves. Ren Sihan’s expression froze, and disbelief was plain in his eyes. He swayed slightly as he opened his mouth to speak, only to cough up a torrent of blood.

  Ren Sihan’s body convulsed from the backlash of burning his life essence and his unstable foundation. For a brief moment, his eyes lost the look of insanity and glimmered with sadness and regret.

  But Ren Qiu didn’t hesitate. Seizing the opening with a roar, he summoned the last reserves of his strength and sent his flames forth like a tidal wave, swallowing Ren Sihan’s faltering fire whole.

  “Ren Sihan, this ends here!”

  The inferno engulfed him, and Sihan’s figure writhed within the blaze before it crumbled into ash, consumed by the fire.

  Ren Qiu staggered forward, his one knee buckling as the flames died around him. His chest heaved from exhaustion, and sweat mixed with blood dripped down his face. He spat a mouthful of crimson onto the scorched deck, then his strength completely left him.

  With a groan, Ren Qiu collapsed.

  Just above him, Mei Lian stood on the back of a flying demonic beast. Her expression was unreadable as she watched Ren Sihan’s body being consumed by the flames. Her fingers, which had been forming an intricate seal, slowly relaxed.

  At the final moment of the duel, her Qi had slithered like a serpent to affect Ren Sihan. She had unravelled some of the threads of the control he had left, disrupting the balance and dooming him to fall beneath Ren Qiu’s attack.

  Mei Lian’s lips curved into a satisfied smile.

  “You have me to thank for your loss today, you bastard.” Mei Lian whispered, hoping that Ren Sihan could hear her from the afterlife.

  Now that she was free from him, she could finally find Jun De. Guiding the flying beast closer to the deck of the ship, she leapt off and rushed toward the center, where she knew Jun De would be.