STNS: Chapter 482 (Patreon)

Feng Tiangsheng had been drinking tea when he felt the shifting in the Heavenly Sword Realm’s chi. He furrowed his brow and set his teacup on the table, then clambered outside upon sensing the shift in the atmosphere to have a look. Narrowing his eyes, he gazed at the sky, which was filled with airships. How did they get in? What happened to the barrier? Fang Tiangsheng didn’t know what had happened, but he understood that, somehow, these people had invaded his home.

After snatching up his sword, he traveled outside and quickly sped through the forest. The skyline had already turned red with flames and smoke was pouring out of Heavenly Sword City. With a grimace, he poured on the speed, but he was forced to stop when a figure stepped in his path.

Feng Tiangsheng’s lips became a thin line as he gazed upon the man who looked quite young. He had dark hair without a strand of gray, a face that was covered in smooth skin, and eyes that embodied cruelty. This young-looking man could have passed for his twin brother, almost. There were only a few slight differences between them. In truth, they were cousins.

“Renjian… step aside. There’s something happening in Heavenly Sword City,” Feng Tiangsheng said. As much as he hated his cousin for what this man did to him, now was not the time to get worked up.

“I know,” Feng Renjian said simply. “That’s why I’m here.” He unsheathed his sword. “I won’t let you pass. Today, I will settle the decades-long grudge I’ve had with you.”

“I see. So you’re responsible for what’s happening. You really can’t let bygones be bygones. Even after nearly crippling me, you still have your heart set on revenge. Is settling a grudge really worth betraying your sect?”

“Of course. Killing you is all I’ve ever thought about for the last several years.”

Feng Tiansheng sighed. He knew the real reason his cousin hated his guts, and it was…

“So petty.”

“What was that?!”

Feng Tiangsheng removed his sword from its sheath, the blade glimmering in the light. He held it in a single hand grip and glared at Feng Renjian.

“We both know the reason you hate me so much is because Fan Li loved me instead of you. You’re betraying your sect because a woman who is no longer even with us chose me. That’s pathetic.”

“Shut up! You’ll never understand how I feel!” Feng Renjian snapped. “It wasn’t just Fan Li! Everybody always loved you! You, who were arrogant and boastful, who drown yourself in wine and women! I trained hard every day for my entire life, just to be told I should be more like you! You can never understand how humiliating it is to be told ‘Why don’t you be more like Feng Tiangsheng” every day of my existence!”

Feng Tiangsheng took several deep breaths. “You’re right. I don’t understand. Because I’m not a loser who laments what can’t be changed.”

Even after he was crippled, Feng Tiangsheng did not lament. He simply trained hard to fight with only one arm. Sometimes, life threw unexpected trials your way. A man’s worth was determined by how he dealt with the trials thrown at him. You couldn’t always decide what happened in your life, but you could decide how you reacted to it.

“Damn you! Go ahead and keep talking! I’ll send you to your grave!”

Feng Renjian quickly unsheathed his sword. Unlike his older cousin, who used a massive greatsword, this man used a standard jian. Its size and length were no different from a normal jian. However, the weapon itself was a thing of resplendent beauty and radiated power. It was a profound spirit weapon at the spirit grade.

[Splitting Moon]

The world around Feng Renjian appeared to grow dark. Sounds and sights seemed to vanish. Feng Tiangsheng blinked as light returned, but it was not the light of day, for a massive moon hung in the sky above them. Feng Renjian swung his sword and the moon appeared to have been split in half--along with the rest of the world. The split traveled all the way to Feng Tiangsheng.

[Heaven Cleaver]

Who split the attack in half with a single swing of his sword. The moon shattered, the split reverted, and the sky became normal again. Feng Renjian’s technique had become much more powerful and since the time they dueled in the arena. He had not been able to create a full moon like he had this time, but Feng Tiangsheng had not been resting on his laurels either. Even injured, he continued to train, so that he might one day reclaim his rightful place.

That was just the opening act as the pair began clashing with both techniques and swords. Despite wielding a weapon far more massive than his opponent, Feng Tianghseng was more than able to keep up with the younger man. His swings were precisely timed and his counters were delivered with swiftness and ferocity.

[Moon Carver]

Taking his weapon in a two-handed grip, Feng Renjian swung his blade in a crescent arc that unleashed a wave of what appeared to be moonlight. This attack could carve through just about anything. Even Feng Tiangsheng was impressed by the amount of chi packed into this single technique.

“But it’s still not good enough!!”

With a roar, Feng Tiangsheng swung his greatsword in an arc that seemed to embody the silver light of the heavens. He struck the wave of energy and cleaved through it. However, an attack like Feng Renjian’s was not so weak that it would dissipate that easily, and it traveled in two separate paths, felling multiple trees before it ran out of energy.

During that time, Feng Renjian had once more engaged Feng Tiangsheng in a sword fight that great increasingly more ferocious, as if the man’s rage was fueling his strength. Feng Tiasngsheng was still able to hold his ground, but he soon realized that he was getting pushed back. His heels were digging into the forest floor and creating small trenches.

With a grunt, Feng Tiangsheng pushed his cousin back. He spread his feet wide and unleashed his chi. The eruption of power was enough to startle Feng Renjian into going completely still. It was only for a single second, but that was more than enough time for him to unleash his own technique.

[Cleaving the Heavens in a Single Stroke]

He didn’t have the time for a full-powered technique, so he launched it at a quarter strength. A massive blade of sharpened chi sliced into Feng Renjian. Blood sprayed from the wound as his cousin spun like a top, landing on the ground in a massive heap.

In most other circumstances, Feng Tiangsheng would had waited for his opponent to get back him, but he understood that this man was not a sparring partner. He was an enemy. This was someone he needed to kill.

He tried to strike the man while he was still down, but Feng Renjian wasn’t considered one of the best for nothing.

[Moon Carver]

A swing from his disadvantageous position created an arc of pure energy like moonlight. Feng Tiangsheng swatted it away, but Feng Renjian scrambled to his feet during that time and set himself in a two-handed power stance, feet spread wide. It was like his entire countenance had changed simply by changing to a more solid stance.

“Are you finally getting serious?” asked Feng Tiangsheng. “You should have done that from the beginning.”

“I have simply realized I can’t afford to hold back with you. You are much stronger than I thought you’d be,” Feng Renjian said, expression grave. “Prepare yourself, cousin.”

“I’ve been prepared this whole time,” replied Feng Tiangsheng.

Feng Tiangsheng took a deep breath, centering himself. He could already feel his cousin gathering all of his chi for the next attack. Focusing inwards as he raised his massive greatsword above his head, Feng Tiangsheng gathered his chi and condensed it into his blade. A very thin layer of incredibly dense chi coated his sword. It made the sword look like it was made of pure energy.

[He Who Cleaves the Moon]

[Cutting the Heavens in a Single Strike]

Darkness was cast upon the world. It was as if all the lights had gone out. A dark moon appeared behind Feng Renjian, ominous in both appearance and sensation. Just seeing it felt tremors through Feng Tiangsheng, though he pushed them aside as he launched his own technique, swinging his greatsword downward and unleashed an attack that was completely invisible to the naked eye. Feng Renjian also swung his sword at the same time.

Nothing happened at first.

Time seemed to stand still.

Then, an eruption of power shattered the world around them. The moon was split in two, the space between them fractured, and a vacuum sucked up everything within this small void of space as the two techniques clashed.

And then it was over.

Time reverted back to what it had been.

Feng Tiangsheng grunted as he fell to a knee, dropping his greatsword and raising a hand to the now bleeding stump of his arm. There was no pain. The adrenaline and chi pumping through his veins and dantian kept him from feeling actual pain. He looked at his opponent. Feng Renjian was still standing, but his face was hidden by his bangs. A few seconds ticked by and the man didn’t move at all. Then, without warning, the man was split down the middle. His two halves fell in separate directions and blood pooled on the ground.

“Did I win?” Feng Tiangsheng wondered out loud.

He tried to stand up, then blinked when pain suddenly struck him. The world around him tilted and he fell face first onto the ground. He couldn’t figure out what had happened at first. Using his only remaining hand, he pushed himself onto his back, then glanced down at his legs--at where his legs should have been.

“Oh…”

Feng Renjian was not the only one who had been split in half. He could see his legs a short distance away. They were still upright, standing as though they had yet to realize the top half was no longer connected. Had they locked into place? Feng Tiangsheng didn’t know, and it was getting harder to think.

He laid back down and reminisced about the past. It was perhaps foolish to do now, but he remembered a time when Feng Renjian had admired and looked up to him, calling him Big Brother Tiang. When did his younger cousin stop calling him that? It was probably when Feng Tiangsheng began getting cocky. He no longer knew if the reason for their estrangement was because of Fan Li or because of himself.

I can’t feel my body anymore…

Cultivators were extremely strong individuals with a high pain tolerance and a body that could survive even being cut in half like this. However, they were not immortal. They still needed blood to live, and his was leaving him at a rapid pace. He had lost all feeling in his limbs and torso. Because Feng Tiangsheng had a great understanding of his own body, he could feel his heartbeat growing slower as well. The dull thudding of his heart within his chest was becoming fainter as the seconds ticked by.

I guess this is it… dammit… I wanted to at least see my apprentice surpass me…

Jian Wu would never know how much he helped Feng Tiangsheng. After becoming a cripple, he had withdrawn from the sect’s politics and everything else. The reason there was no greatsword division was not because he couldn’t have made one, but because he had disbanded the one he made after his humiliating defeat. He had intended to live the remainder of his life in obscurity, until Jian Wu had come along.

I know you will grow far stronger than me… I wish I could be there to see it…

Feng Tiangsheng’s thoughts soon became unfocused. He blinked several times as the world blurred in and out. It felt like waves were lapping at his face.

Like that, Feng Tiangsheng left the world.