You, If You Had Experienced Everything I Had

The moment Dong A announced the start of the duel, the two longswords on the wooden platform rang out against each other!

Before the duel, Fang Pengju had made every excuse to back out. But once the duel truly began, he didn't hesitate for a moment. His sword was steady, precise, and ruthless, leaving no room for error. He had stood out among all the outer disciples of Maple Forest Dao Academy and earned the respect of Jiang Wang and the others over the years for a reason. His reputation was no empty boast.

But Jiang Wang was faster, steadier, and more resolute than him!

Because he had waited fifty-seven days. Because throughout those fifty-seven days and nights, he had imagined this moment every waking instant.

Even while gravely wounded, even while enduring the torment of illness, even when he had been on the verge of death several times.

When enemies crossed blades, he could accept being wounded or killed. But the agony of being betrayed by the person he trusted most cut far deeper than any physical pain.

What had carried him through those days, besides his boundless desire to live, was a hatred that had carved itself into his bones!

One sword thrust broke through Fang Pengju's stance.

Jiang Wang drove forward with the sword. He rammed his abdomen straight into Fang Pengju's blade, and as blood sprayed, he indifferently swept his own sword across, slicing through the tendons in Fang Pengju's hand!

The two wounds appeared almost simultaneously. But one had been inflicted by choice, the other suffered helplessly—and that alone had decided the outcome.

Jiang Wang pressed forward again, twisting with his body and driving his elbow hard into Fang Pengju's chest.

Fang Pengju had just lost control of his sword from the agony when, the next instant, he heard the clear crack of his own bones.

His body folded like a shrimp as he was blasted beyond the high platform. The swaying branches bounced him back, and he fell to the ground below.

In a single exchange, Fang Pengju had been defeated!

"How is this possible? The gap between them... is that enormous?!"

The crowd below the high platform erupted in an uproar.

It had all happened too quickly. The Vein-Opening Pill, blended with Jiang Wang's blood and tears, had given Fang Pengju the first glimmer of a Dao Vein and filled him with soaring confidence.

The sword, tempered with Jiang Wang's hatred and pain, had also sent Fang Pengju crashing into the dust.

"He lost to himself. He lost to fear." Zhao Rucheng spoke in a grave voice. "If he hadn't been afraid, he wouldn't have tried to murder Third Brother and steal the Vein-Opening Pill through such despicable means. He knew that was the only way he could surpass Third Brother. Once the gap widened, he'd never be able to catch up."

Ling He couldn't help sighing. "When Third Brother first came to the Dao Academy, his strength was near the bottom, nowhere close to Pengju's. A few years later, he's recognized throughout the outer disciples as the best swordsman, while Pengju has always been so proud..."

Du Yehu snapped angrily, "However you put it, it still comes down to being useless and shameless!"

Clang!

Jiang Wang slowly pulled the sword that had pierced his abdomen free and tossed it aside.

The bloodstained sword clattered to the ground, helpless and disoriented, just like Fang Pengju, who was coughing up blood.

With his sword lowered at his side, Jiang Wang walked forward at an unhurried pace.

"Save me! Headmaster, save me! I'm a member of the Fang Family, one of the three great families in this city!"

Fang Pengju cried out in terror. He no longer showed even a trace of the air of a wealthy young master.

Dong A's expression was blank. "Since this is a Dao-Witnessed Death Duel, it will naturally end only with death. The only person who can decide whether you live or die is your opponent."

"Third Brother, Third Brother!" Fang Pengju braced himself with one hand and kept scrambling backward. "Spare me, please! Spare me just this once!"

"The Fang Family has been around for a hundred years! But it's been twenty years since anyone in the family opened the Heaven Gate and became a cultivator! One step behind, and you fall behind at every step! How much longer can I afford to wait? I can't stop! I carry the ardent hopes of my late father on my shoulders. I can't stop!"

Tears blurred Fang Pengju's eyes as he looked at Jiang Wang. "Your Vein-Opening Pill—I'm asking you, would you have given it to me?"

Jiang Wang said nothing.

"My uncle went to the Cloud Kingdom, but he couldn't buy a Vein-Opening Pill. Even if he had, he might not have given it to me. The restrictions on Vein-Opening Pills keep getting stricter. They're awarded only to the outer disciples with the brightest prospects, and you're the only one at Maple Forest Dao Academy who earned that kind of merit. I had no choice. I had no choice!" Fang Pengju broke down sobbing.

Jiang Wang narrowed his eyes. "I actually understand you. I understand your anxiety, your unease, your fear. The Fang Family is a great lineage. It gave you a privileged upbringing, but the competition is fierce too. I've always known that human desire has no bounds. I also know how badly you wanted to prove yourself, how much you wanted to win glory for your father, who died young. You told me all that. I remember. You were desperate for quick success, bewitched by greed. I can understand that."

A glimmer of hope flashed through Fang Pengju's eyes.

"But understanding doesn't mean forgiveness."

As Jiang Wang finished speaking, he came to a stop in front of Fang Pengju.

His sword drew a clear arc through the air and plunged into Fang Pengju's chest, precise and utterly without hesitation.

"If you repay hatred with virtue, what will you repay virtue with?"

"So, I died once before. You have to repay me with your life."

Jiang Wang spoke slowly.

Fang Pengju seized the blade with his uninjured left hand, letting it slice open his palm. He kept the sword lodged in his body, making death wait just a little longer.

With difficulty, he let out a wet, rattling sound.

"After I took... your pill, I couldn't sleep at night. I regretted it... I'm sorry. But you're safe and sound, aren't you? We're brothers. Why... why can't you forgive me... just once?"

Many in the crowd below the high platform felt conflicted. They could no longer bear to watch or listen.

But Jiang Wang merely looked at him calmly.

"Do you know what it feels like to be betrayed? Do you know the pain and fury that sear your heart? You made my trust seem foolish. You made everything I went through seem like a joke. You made my pain meaningless."

Memories flowed past like water, but they held no warmth now and could stir no ripples.

"Have you ever lain on a pile of straw, weak and helpless, able only to wait for death to come?"

"I thought I saw two shadows swaying in front of me. I knew they were Black and White Impermanence. I thought I heard them breathing, slowly, slowly, right beside my ear. I once swore I would overcome fate! But I knew I was about to die, and there wasn't a thing I could do."

"If you had experienced what I experienced, you'd understand that some pain can't be made right. I'm someone who has already died once. If I forgive you, I won't be able to face myself."

That was all Jiang Wang said. He slowly, resolutely, drew his sword out.

The high platform slowly descended, and the branches contracted. At last, the entire dueling ground, created by the Daoist Art, became a tiny sapling again and sank into the earth.

Fang Pengju lay motionless on the ground, his right arm at his side, his left hand still raised in front of him as if gripping the sword that had taken his life. His eyes were wide open, with traces of pain, unwillingness, and all manner of emotions lingering in them.

But he was dead.

Ling He sighed softly, walked over, took off his outer robe, and covered Fang Pengju's face.

Du Yehu opened his mouth, as though he wanted to curse him, but in the end, no words came. The man was dead.

Zhao Rucheng stood perfectly still, silent.

Jiang Wang stood quietly where he was. He wasn't looking at anyone in the arena, but at the endless, distant sky, as though gazing into the eyes of another self in another time and space.

"Rest in peace," he said in his heart.

His mind was utterly clear. The Earthworm in his spine suddenly came to life, leaping up from his tailbone and swimming smoothly along its journey, until it spat out a Dao Essence, round, full, and beautiful.

A line suddenly came to Jiang Wang's mind: "Understanding the ways of the world is all cultivation; a clear and untroubled mind is the very stuff of progress."

"Understanding the ways of the world is all cultivation; a clear and untroubled mind is the very stuff of progress." The original line is "Understanding the ways of the world is all knowledge; mastering human affairs is the stuff of fine writing." I adapted it to suit the passage.