If You Had Experienced All That I Have

The moment Dong A announced the start of the duel, two longswords clashed with a resounding clang on the wooden platform!

Before the duel, Fang Pengju had made every excuse to avoid it. But once it truly began, he showed not a shred of hesitation. His sword strike was extremely steady, precise, and ruthless, leaving no room for mercy. He had risen above the outer disciples of Maple Forest Dao Academy and earned the respect of Jiang Wang and others in the past—this was no empty reputation.

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

Because he had waited fifty-seven days. Because in those fifty-seven days and nights, he had imagined this scene every single moment.

Even with severe injuries, even as his sickly body struggled, even on the brink of death multiple times.

When enemies cross swords, injury or death is accepted. But betrayal by the one you trusted most—the torment of the heart far outweighs that of the body.

What carried him through those days, besides an endless thirst for life, was a bone-deep hatred!

One sword strike broke into Fang Pengju's sword momentum.

The sword entered, and so did he. He drove his lower abdomen straight onto Fang Pengju's blade. As blood splattered, Jiang Wang coldly swept his own sword across, slitting Fang Pengju's wrist tendons!

The two wounds appeared almost simultaneously, but one was active, the other passive—and that decided the outcome.

Jiang Wang pressed forward, using his elbow to drive his body, smashing it forward violently. He crashed hard into Fang Pengju's chest.

Fang Pengju had just lost control of his sword in searing pain when the next moment, he heard the clear sound of his own bones cracking.

His entire body was blasted into a shrimp-like curve, slammed beyond the platform, bounced back by the swaying branches, and fell to the ground.

In a single exchange, Fang Pengju was defeated!

"How is this possible? The gap... is this huge?!"

A clamor erupted below the platform.

Everything happened too fast. The Vein-Opening Pill, steeped in Jiang Wang's blood and tears, had made Fang Pengju's Dao Vein faintly manifest, his spirit soaring.

But the sword, infused with Jiang Wang's hatred and pain, sent Fang Pengju crashing into the dust.

"He lost to himself, lost to fear," Zhao Rucheng said solemnly. "If not for fear, he wouldn't have chosen to harm Third Brother and seize the Vein-Opening Pill by despicable means. He knew he had no other way to surpass Third Brother. Once the gap widened, he could never catch up."

Ling He couldn't help but sigh. "When Third Brother first came to the academy, his strength was at the bottom, far below Pengju. In a few years, his swordsmanship is recognized as the best among outer disciples. And Pengju has always been proud..."

Du Yehu growled angrily, "In the end, isn't it all because of incompetence and shamelessness!?"

Clang!

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

The bloodstained sword clattered to the ground, as helpless and panicked as Fang Pengju, who was spitting blood.

Sword hanging at his side, Jiang Wang walked forward slowly.

"Save me! Headmaster, save me! I'm from the Fang family—the Fang family is one of the three great clans of this city!"

Fang Pengju screamed in terror, with none of the bearing of a wealthy young master.

Dong A's face was expressionless. "Since this is a Dao-proven death duel, it ends only in death. The one who decides your life or death is your opponent."

"Third Brother, Third Brother!" Fang Pengju scrambled backward, hands pushing against the ground. "Spare me, spare me! Spare me this once!"

"The Fang family is a century-old clan! But it's been twenty years since we last produced a cultivator who could push open the Heaven and Earth Gate! One step slow, every step slow! How much time do I have left to wait? I can't stop—I carry my late father's fervent hopes. I can't stop!"

Tears streaming, he looked at Jiang Wang. "Your Vein-Opening Pill—if I'd asked, 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 at all. Even if he had, he might not have given it to me. The restrictions on Vein-Opening Pills grow tighter—they're only awarded to the most promising outer disciples. In all of Maple Forest Dao Academy, only you earned that merit. I had no choice, no choice!" Fang Pengju wailed.

Jiang Wang narrowed his eyes. "I actually understand you. I understand your anxiety, your unease, your fear. The Fang family is a big clan—it gave you a privileged environment, but the competition is fierce too. I've long known that human desire is endless. I also know how much you wanted to prove yourself, how much you wanted to win glory for your father, who died young. You told me all this—I remember. You were impatient for success, blinded by greed. I can understand that."

In the flicker of hope that suddenly lit up Fang Pengju's eyes, he continued, "But understanding is not forgiveness."

With those words, Jiang Wang reached Fang Pengju.

The longsword traced a clear arc through the air, piercing his chest precisely and without hesitation.

"Repay kindness with kindness—how then shall we repay evil?"

"So, since I once died, you must pay with your life."

Jiang Wang said slowly.

Fang Pengju grabbed the blade with his uninjured left hand, letting the edge cut into his palm, keeping the sword lodged in his body to delay death a little longer.

He made a hoarse, rasping sound.

"After I took... your pill... I couldn't sleep every night. I regret it... I'm sorry. But... but you're fine now, aren't you? We were brothers. Why... why couldn't you forgive me... just once."

Many below the platform felt a complex mix of emotions, unable to bear watching or listening any longer.

But Jiang Wang only looked at him calmly.

"Do you know what betrayal feels like? Do you know the pain and rage that burns inside? You made my trust look foolish. You made my experience a joke. You made my suffering meaningless."

Memories flowed like water, but held no warmth, stirred no ripples.

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

"I seemed to see two shadows flickering before me—I knew they were the Black and White Impermanence. I seemed to hear their breathing, slow, slow, ringing in my ears. I once swore to overcome fate! But I knew I was about to die, and there was nothing I could do."

"If you had experienced what I did, you'd understand that some wounds can never be mended. I have already died once. If I forgave you, I wouldn't be able to face myself."

Jiang Wang said no more. Slowly and resolutely, he withdrew his longsword.

The high platform descended gradually, its branches retracting, until the entire dueling ground conjured by the Dao technique shrank back into a tiny sapling and burrowed into the earth.

Fang Pengju lay quietly on the ground, his right hand limp at his side, his left hand still loosely clenched before him, as if gripping the very sword that had taken his life. His eyes were wide open, lingering traces of pain, unwillingness, and a host of other emotions etched within.

But he was already dead.

Ling He let out a soft sigh, stepped forward, removed his outer robe, and draped it over Fang Pengju's face.

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

Zhao Rucheng stood motionless, silent.

Jiang Wang remained still where he stood, his eyes not on anyone present, but fixed on the endless, distant sky. It was as if he were meeting the gaze of another version of himself from another time.

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

His mind was a vast emptiness. The Earthworm in his spine suddenly grew lively, leaping up from the tailbone, gliding smoothly through a stretch of its journey, and spitting out a round, full, beautiful Dao Essence.

A phrase suddenly surfaced in Jiang Wang's mind—To see the world clearly is cultivation; to have unobstructed thoughts is sustenance.