TRWSB – Chapter 224 Saint-level sparring

“If I had known earlier, I should have set the wedding date sooner. That way, I could have gotten ahead of that Hailing guy.” Left Yunfei had long heard of Hailing, the Crown Prince of the Sea Dragon Clan, but had never met him.

Qi Heng shook his head and said, “What’s there to compete about in something like this?”

Left Yunfei glared at him and said with annoyance, “If this isn’t something worth competing over, then what is?”

Qi Heng: “…”

“Such a pity, you lost. Hailing beat you to it.” Qi Heng teased with a laugh.

Left Yunfei rolled his eyes and said, “No big deal. Anyway, I have Zhuang Hao to take the fall for me.”

Qi Heng: “…” If Young Master Zhuang heard this, he’d definitely be depressed.

Qi Heng turned his head and saw Zhuang Hao standing at the doorway. Left Yunfei turned around too, and with a calm expression, smiled at Zhuang Hao, saying, “Young Master Zhuang, you’re here!”

“All packed up? If so, let’s head to the Sea Clan early. Shaorong used to serve as a lord on the Azure Sea Plains; we can take the opportunity to revisit the place,” Zhuang Hao said.

“Sure!” Left Yunfei responded.

Left Yunfei and Qi Heng packed up and left the Left family. Yunfei’s departure stirred up much discussion within the clan.

“Yunjing, your brother’s left?”

Left Yunjing nodded. “Yes.”

Left Yongsheng snorted unhappily. “He caused a big mess and now runs away. Is he planning to leave the family to clean it up?” He had tried to negotiate the dowry with Yunfei before but was treated coldly, which left him quite resentful.

Left Yunjing sighed. “He said if the Jialan Temple people come investigating, he’ll take full responsibility.”

Left Yongsheng shook his head. “That guy’s completely bewitched by Qi Heng. Actually, Miss Jun Lanyue isn’t that bad.”

Left Yunjing forced a bitter smile. “Even if Jun Lanyue is great, my brother simply doesn’t like her.” No matter Qi Heng’s flaws, his brother likes him.

“I think your brother is utterly infatuated with that Qi Heng. In the future, he’s bound to turn his back on his own family,” Left Yongsheng said.

Left Yunjing gave another helpless smile and thought to himself: If Yunfei were here, Left Yongsheng probably wouldn’t dare to speak this way.

The Jialan Temple had suffered a big loss — who knew if they’d come after Zhuang Hao for revenge. But Zhuang Hao was already at the Saint-level. Even Jialan Temple wouldn’t recklessly provoke someone like that.

The journey from Jin Kingdom to the Sea Clan was long, but the four of them weren’t in a hurry. They toured and sight-saw along the way, slowly making their way toward their destination.

Qi Shaorong squinted toward Zhuang Hao and Left Yunfei. “They’re fighting again?”

Qi Heng nodded. “Yep. Young Master Zhuang says actual combat helps Yunfei find his domain.”

“Well, that’s not wrong.” Zhuang Hao had also discovered his domain while exploring ancient tombs and in the heat of battle. However, judging by their fighting, Qi Shaorong couldn’t help but feel like Zhuang Hao was using the opportunity for a bit of revenge.

Left Yunfei was really unlucky. First, his power issues had him tormented by Qi Heng, and now he was being tossed around by Zhuang Hao. But with that sharp tongue of his, it wasn’t undeserved.

Qi Shaorong stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Did Yunfei offend Zhuang Hao somehow?”

Qi Heng shook his head with a smile. “No idea.”

Qi Shaorong looked in their direction and said, “Whatever. Your man can’t be beaten to death anyway. Let them fight.”

Qi Heng: “…”

Zhuang Hao and Left Yunfei basically fought the whole way on their journey.

Qi Shaorong had to admire Yunfei’s resilience. Beaten again and again, he’d bounce back the next day, full of energy, ready for another round. At first, Qi Shaorong thought Qi Heng’s methods of healing Yunfei back then were overly harsh, but now he was starting to think Yunfei was the kind who just asked for a beating.

After all the intense battles, Yunfei still hadn’t reached Saint-level, but his strength had improved considerably.

Qi Heng was applying medicine to Yunfei using a cotton swab.

Yunfei let out a few muffled groans. “Hurts?”

“A bit,” Yunfei replied.

“You don’t have to spar with Zhuang every day, you know,” said Qi Heng.

Yunfei said gloomily, “No way. If I don’t fight him, he’ll think I’m scared. I can’t let him look down on me.” The Jialan Temple trouble had made Yunfei feel a strong sense of urgency—he had to reach Saint-level.

Qi Heng looked at him and said, “Just go with the flow. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Yunfei smiled, “I know, don’t worry. If I can’t handle it, I won’t force myself.”

Qi Heng: “…”

Qi Shaorong looked at Zhuang Hao. “You look tired.”

Zhuang Hao nodded. “A bit. That guy’s tough to deal with. And I have to be careful not to kill him—don’t want Qi Heng to end up a widower.”

Qi Shaorong: “…”

Not long after Zhuang Hao’s group left Jin Kingdom, the Jialan Temple sent people to the kingdom again.

Originally, everyone thought the Jialan Temple would go after Left Yunfei and Qi Heng.

However, once they got there and investigated, they beat up Jun Lanyue instead—leaving her severely injured.

The temple had concluded that it was Jun Lanyue’s instigation that led to the conflict with Left Yunfei.

Jun Lanyue had hoped the Jialan Temple would stand up for her, but things turned out far worse than she expected.

As for Jun Lanyue getting beaten, the Jun family remained silent.

In truth, due to Jun Lanyue’s past actions, many in the family already had opinions about her. And now that Jun Xia had been crippled because of her, even more members of the Jun family resented her.

Jiang Family.

“The Jialan Temple people left?” Jiang He looked at Jiang Qinxin and asked.

Jiang Qinxin nodded. “Yes, it seems they don’t plan to go after Left Yunfei.”

“Originally, it was Jun Lanyue who provoked the conflict between the Jialan Temple and Zuo Yunfei. Blowing it up any further would only cause unnecessary loss,” Jiang He said.

Zhuang Hao was already at the Saint level, and the Zhuang family had another Saint-level powerhouse. Although Jialan Temple was powerful, it wasn’t worth making enemies of both the Zuo and Zhuang families over someone like Jun Lanyue. Furthermore, Qi Shaorong reportedly had a very good relationship with the Sea Clan. Zuo Yunfei had even left the Zuo family to attend the wedding of the Young Lord of the Sea Dragon Clan.

Jiang Qinxin shook her head and sighed. “I heard Jun Lanyue has been crippled.”

“That girl was too troublesome. I guess she won’t be causing any more drama now.” Jiang He shook his head and silently thought: Seeing Zuo Yunfei’s current achievements, the Jun family must regret their decision immensely. If they hadn’t broken off the engagement years ago, Zuo Yunfei could’ve been their greatest support.

“The Jun family is probably in trouble now,” Jiang Qinxin added.

Jun Xia had only herself to blame. If she had investigated properly instead of rashly going after Qi Heng, things wouldn’t have ended so badly.

Jiang He sighed. The Jun family had failed to recognize a brilliant son-in-law and pushed him away. The Jiang family had made similar mistakes.

Morning

“Wanna spar?” Zuo Yunfei walked up to Zhuang Hao and asked.

Zhuang Hao turned to glance at him and thought: This guy is addicted to getting beaten up. Coming for a fight first thing in the morning?

“Probably not today,” Zhuang Hao replied.

“Why not?” Zuo Yunfei asked, puzzled.

“Someone’s coming.”

Zuo Yunfei narrowed his eyes. “Someone?”

As soon as Zhuang Hao finished speaking, a person dressed in a robe adorned with stars and moons appeared before them.

“Young Master Zhuang, such keen perception!”

Qi Shaorong squinted at the new arrival. The man’s robe resembled those worn by others he’d seen from Jialan Temple—except this one looked more refined. The man’s aura also gave off a more “cult-leader” vibe.

Zhuang Hao looked at the man. “You’re from Jialan Temple.”

“Indeed. Zhuang Hao, you injured many of our people. Don’t you think you owe us an explanation?” the man asked coldly.

Zhuang Hao smiled. “They came to me. They couldn’t beat me. That just means they were incompetent.”

“They were foolish for not investigating the situation properly before acting. However, don’t you think your response was excessive?” the man—Koryan—pressed.

Since arriving in Jin State, Koryan had already investigated the situation. Jun Xia had injured Zuo Yunfei’s lover on behalf of her niece, Jun Lanyue. Zuo Yunfei then seriously injured Jun Xia in retaliation. Later, Jialan Temple members tried to go after Qi Heng for revenge, only to run into Zhuang Hao—and paid the price.

Koryan didn’t actually mind Jun Xia stepping in for Jun Lanyue. Jialan Temple was known for protecting their own. Even if Jun Lanyue was in the wrong, Jun Xia taking her side wasn’t a problem. What angered him was that Jun Xia had acted without understanding the consequences.

“You’re here to stand up for them?” Zhuang Hao asked.

“No matter what, you did injure our people,” Koryan said.

Zhuang Hao smirked. “You want a fight? Then skip the chatter.”

Koryan looked at him. “Young and hot-tempered, aren’t you?”

His eyes suddenly turned dangerous. Zhuang Hao raised his hands, and a vortex of seven-element magic surged toward Koryan.

Zuo Yunfei observed with interest, his eyes gleaming. “Think Zhuang Hao will get beaten?” he asked Qi Heng.

Qi Heng shook his head. “No idea. But you sound like you’re hoping he will. If he goes down, we’re next.”

Zuo Yunfei nodded. “True. Maybe I’ll join in.”

Though not a Saint-level yet, Zuo Yunfei’s power could still affect one.

Qi Heng frowned as the three clashed. “Young Master, will he be alright?”

Qi Shaorong forced a smile. “Should be fine.”

Jialan Temple was mysterious, filled with powerful figures who rarely interacted with outsiders. Their arrogance wasn’t baseless. Koryan was a dual-element Saint of fire and wind and had entered the Saint realm earlier than Zhuang Hao, with a far more complete domain.

Zuo Yunfei got struck by Koryan’s domain and was knocked out of the fight.

Qi Heng helped him up. “You okay?”

Zuo Yunfei shook his head, eyes still fixed on the battle, a glint of excitement flashing. “Domains are really something.”

The difference between ninth and Saint-level was massive. Zuo Yunfei now fully realized Zhuang Hao had been going easy on him before. He wasn’t discouraged, though—just more determined to become a Saint himself.

Zhuang Hao and Koryan fought for a full day without a clear winner.

Since ascending to Saint-level, Zhuang Hao had lacked worthy opponents. Now, with Koryan, he fought in earnest.

After thousands of exchanges, they finally paused.

Qi Shaorong frowned. “Finally, they stopped. Aren’t they tired? Should we feed them first?”

Qi Heng: “…”

Zuo Yunfei: “…”

Koryan clenched his fist, wary. He hadn’t intended for this to become a fight to the death. He just wanted to teach Zhuang Hao a lesson after the Temple’s loss—but things hadn’t gone as planned.

He thought defeating a new Saint would be easy. But Zhuang Hao’s domain was potent, and he was improving as they fought.

Koryan scanned the others—Zuo Yunfei and company didn’t concern him much—but if he and Zhuang Hao both got seriously hurt, those onlookers could pose a real threat.

“You’re truly impressive, Zhuang Hao. Let’s consider the matter resolved.”

But Zhuang Hao appeared in front of him again. “You came all this way. No need to leave in a hurry. How about a meal before we continue?”

Zuo Yunfei chuckled. “Right! Lord Hallmaster, you rushed here so quickly—leaving now would look bad. People might say you fled because you couldn’t beat Zhuang Hao. That’d be quite a blow to Jialan Temple’s reputation.”

Koryan’s sharp eyes turned to Zuo Yunfei, who smiled calmly.

“Want some barbecue? I’m not a great cook, but feel free to make do,” Qi Shaorong said cheerfully.

Koryan nearly choked on his anger. What did these people take him for? He was ready to let this go, yet they clung to him like leeches.

Stuck between pride and pragmatism, he stayed.

After the meal, Koryan and Zhuang Hao fought again.

Their battle dragged on for days. Every time Koryan tried to leave, the others would “politely” urge him to stay.

Qi Heng asked Qi Shaorong, “Young Master, what exactly is happening here?”

Qi Shaorong replied, “I’ll tell you—Ah Hao found a cheap sparring partner. Just needs to be fed. What a great deal.”

Qi Heng: “…”

Frowning at Koryan, Qi Heng added, “This sparring partner’s a bit vicious, though. If Zhuang Hao slips up, he could get hurt badly.”

“Well, he fights so hard just for food. That’s commitment,” Qi Shaorong said.

Though in combat, Saint-level beings could still hear everything around them clearly. Qi Shaorong and Qi Heng’s words reached Koryan, making his blood boil. He let his guard down—and Zhuang Hao struck him hard.

Zhuang Hao grinned. “Lord Hallmaster, you’d better focus. One moment of distraction could lead to eternal regret!”

Looking at Zhuang Hao’s beaming face, Koryan deeply regretted ever coming here.

Zhuang Hao smiled again. “Senior, are you hungry? Want something to eat first?”

Koryan: “…”
Eat, eat, eat. This idiot only knows how to eat.

He glared at Zhuang Hao fiercely but said nothing.