Chapter 9: Insanity
Three years ago was the second time that Xue Hai returned to visit them. It was quite a shocking scene back then. After all, when he arrived outside of their house, they were shocked to find they could not sense his cultivation base.
Usually cultivators who had a higher cultivation base than another could sense what level they were at. This rule did have some exceptions though.
If someone had a treasure or an ability to hide their level, then it was possible to conceal it. But the two of them knew how rare such treasures and skills were. So only one conclusion could be reached. Xue Hai had actually became as powerful as they had.
It had only been four years yet for him to reach such a stage... the power of a heavenly fate really was a frightening thing.
He didn't bring gifts or anything like the last time, but they were more than happy to just have his presence.
This trip was longer than his last one however. He stayed there for several days and during those days Xue Hai witnessed something interesting.
Xue Chang was practicing his arts over in the villa he owned in the city. Zhao Wei and Xue Mei were both unaware of Xue Chang's practice and as such Xue Hai was forced to ask Wu Jie where his big brother was.
The reason why Xue Chang's parents were not told of his practice was because of one reason he gave.
"If we were to tell my parents, they would definitely not allow me to continue practicing. After all, they say that I should focus on becoming a scholar or studying to become a teacher. Fighting shouldn't be what I worked to achieve simply because they say that learning how to fight was learning how to prepare yourself for a battle to the death."
Leaning back over his stool, Xue Chang sighed and said, "But I can't just stop here. I've worked so hard so how can I just give up now? I want to grow stronger? Much stronger!"
"Why would a kid like you need so much strength anyway? You got some grudge you want to handle? Just tell me and I'll handle it." Wu Jie couldn't understand Xue Chang, why was he so desperate to grow stronger?
"No, it is because I'm the big brother! The big brother should not be this much weaker than the younger one. I want to grow stronger and make a name for myself so that one day I can proudly stand up and proclaim 'I am Xue Hai's big brother-' Without any regret!"
Clenching his fist together, a ailemn expression could be seen on his face, "I don't want my pathetic state to bring his name or reputation down. Nor do I want him to be so distracted just for my sake. I'm the older one and I need to start acting like it."
Although he thought the reasoning was childish and silly, especially coming from a child, Wu Jie did agree that Zhao Wei and Xue Mei would definitely not allow Xue Chang to keep doing what he's been doing. As such he agreed to keep the robes and training a secret.
That day, Wu Jie brought Xue Hai over to Xue Chang's villa. And by pure chance, they caught sight of him training using a blunted heavy blade.
The two people were hypnotized as they watched Xue Chang flip the weapon around in his hands beautifully. His steps and slashes synced up and his body movements flowed like water.
His movements looked almost like dancing as he swung the blade around his body in such a graceful manner that the two of them couldn't believe he was actually using martial arts.
But his performance was not only impressive, but also heart wrenching and alluring.
Just the bit he saw lit a flame within Wu Jie's heart and his intent to battle began to rise.
Usually he wouldn't be interesting in battling someone unless he absolutely had to, but this was different. This wasn't a bloodthirs he was developing. This was the intent of a practitioner who was witnessing a connoisseur at work. It was the deep resolve to learn from that master.
He didn't want to fight just for the hell of it, but a true duel between two warrior where both side gained some insights from it. That was how skillful he was! He held enough capability to even make him feel awe. To make him want to learn!
And Xue Hai, who understood more about Xue Chang's skills than Wu Jie did, was even more interested in his techniques. After all, these were clearly techniques from the simple manuals he brought back to help his family train their foundation. Yet they seemed even more profound than what he remembered.
It was as if everything he knew about those skills was negligible and it was his brother who had truly understood the very essence of the manuals.
This brought his desire to battle to its pinnacle, and after the two brothers caught up, Xue Hai couldn't hold back anymore and asked for some guidance.
That battle lasted seven days and nights, with an uncountable number of challenges fought. This was also the most stressful time for Wu Jie as he had to work hard and make up excuses for the brothers on what they were doing the entire time.
Wu Jie wasn't sure how Xue Chang was able to keep up with his brother in battle at first but it slowly dawned on him. Xue Hai had actually chosen to seal his cultivation and fight using only his skills with the sword.
But this wasn't a good enough challenge for Xue Chang, who still wore twenty five kilos at the time. As such he released his strength bit by bit every single battle before the final day.
On that day, Wu Jie had to make up another excuse for the twins, so when he returned to the villa and found the both of them lying on the floor exhausted, an overwhelming feeling of shock overcame him.
This was not only because he had missed their final duel, but because of what he saw before him. The entire courtyard of the villa was destroyed and the walls of the house and gate were crumbling. Slash marks could been seen all across the area, and between the twins, a giant crater was set in the ground.
Most importantly of all, Xue Chang had removed his robe. This was very important because the robe was like an inhibitor that held him back. If he was forced to remove it, then that meant Xue Hai chose not to fight with only skills and techniques anymore. It means he unlocked some of his cultivation.
While Wu Jie did not know how much he released, the fact that a mortal child kept up with a cultivator at any level at all was truly frightening.
This was the first time Wu Jie realized that these two brothers might not seem like much now, but they may become something incredible in the future!
And to this day, he had never forgot the scene of the two kids lying on the floor laughing until the night.
It's been three years since then and he still wasn't sure how powerful Xue Chang had become.
Looking at the child gently, he patiently waited for an answer.
Xue Chang stopped admiring his robe and cocked his head to the side in wonder.
"I don't know exactly. I feel like I've reached a stopping point in my training. As far as I know, I've practiced to the limits but now I need real combat experience to see how I'll do."
"So you've reached a bottleneck. You have the theoretical down and just need to confirm the practical. Do you have any plans?"
"Well about that uncle... I may have one idea."
-One conversation later-
"No and when I say that I mean hell no! Chang'er are you insane! Not only does that mean you'll be facing constant danger, but if your parents ever find out the truth Zhao Wei will literally kill me!"
Wu Jie couldn't believe what the words he was hearing from Xue Chang, such an insane idea actually came from the mouth of a child.
No, Wu Jie couldn't be thinking that way. No matter how young he looked, Xue Chang was still fifteen years old. This was the age where people like him developed crazy ideas and ambitions.
But this was too crazy!
"Uncle, I won't be in that much danger. I'm not dumb enough to get myself killed and you know how tenacious I am. Plus,I'll have my two hired guards there with me! Doing this will be one of the best methods for me to train, plus I'll earn a bit more money from it."
Bringing his index finger and thumb together, Xue Chang smiled coyly and said, "You know about my expenditure as well as I do. All of my weapons and training equipment break so easily that we are forced to buy new ones. The debt I owe from borrowing money from you is very steep, but I have no income so how can I pay it off!"
Every single one of his words were correct. Because of the way Xue Chang trained himself, the cost of the equipment and walls he had broken in the past had reached an uncountable sum.
In just the last month, Wu Jie lent ten gold coins just for him to purchase new tiles for his courtyard grounds. Ten gold coins could allow an average family to live in luxury for an entire year!
Yet that amount of money was spent to fix his villa's floor a number of times. Even Wu Jie had to admit that his wallet was hurting a bit.
"Hypothetically, and I only mean this hypothetically, how would you even do it? Although the face of the son of Zhao Wei isn't known in many places, your natural appearance certainly won't help you in either."
Xue Chang just gave a wink and pulled a manual out from the pile that was his old robes. Holding it out before him, he looked at Wu Jie expectantly as if waiting for some praise.
Grabbing the manual from Xue Chang's hands, be glossed over it before giving off a strange expression.
"You can't be serious."
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