The Undying Immortal System-Chapter 291: Life 76, Age 16, Martial Disciple 5

The next day, before the final competition, I was sitting in my cultivation chamber when the door opened without warning.

I looked up at the man standing over me. “Hello, father.”

He frowned at me with feigned sympathy. “Fang, I regret to inform you that one of the Disciples who has been training with you passed away last night.”

My brow wrinkled and I dropped my jaw slightly in a show of concern.

“What? What happened?”

The muscles of YuanKong’s jaw clenched, but he did his best to remain the model of a worried father.

“We are not quite sure. The elders were hoping that you might be able to shed some light on the situation. After all, you were the last to speak with him.”

I shook my head, the perfect picture of a devastated teenager.

“No… What… How did—” Suddenly, my brain processed what YuanKong had said. “Him? You mean…”

He nodded. “Yes, it was Su Bo. His death was so… tragic. We are still investigating the specifics of how it happened, but it appears that he was assassinated by a lightning cultivator.”

I closed my eyes, dropped my head, and took a few ragged breaths.

Did YuanKong buy this? Almost certainly not. TaiZu hadn’t even blinked when I told him to swear an Oath, so I was certain that the Su Clan’s elders were familiar with the concept. They had to know what had caused the boy’s death. If they were investigating anything, it would be how I was able to get him to swear such a powerful Oath without an oath stone. After all, such an item would be hard to hide, and neither of us had left the training compound. Though, if they knew enough, they might be more focused on figuring out how such an Oath had been enforced.

YuanKong pursed his lips. “I see. If you think of anything, please, come and speak with me.”

He turned to leave but stopped after only a single step. “By the way, Fang, son… As you know, after today’s competition, the clan will reward the elites based on their rankings. I know that you might be tempted to challenge ShouDu and try to claim the rewards for first place, but doing so would be extremely dangerous. ShouDu is a powerful warrior, and I can’t bear the thought of him injuring you. So please, promise your father that you will stay safe today, okay?”

I had to struggle not to laugh in his face. With extreme difficulty, I forced my face into a mask of filial piety.

“Of course, father. I will do as you say.”

Was YuanKong worried about my safety? Hardly. He had watched me train. He knew that I wouldn’t have any trouble taking down ShouDu. This was just more of the Su Clan’s inept politics.

Did it matter? No. I had no desire to challenge ShouDu–not today. I needed to take my time with him.

Like normal, my guide brought me to the arena a bit early, but this time, I wasn’t the first to arrive. Two others were already there.

The first was an old man who was sweeping the ground near the courtyard’s entrance. As I passed him, I handed him a note without breaking my stride. Neither of us spoke.

The second was the young woman who was sitting in the seat of the tenth-ranked elite. Her face was paler than usual, and when she saw me, she tried to back away, nearly toppling her chair over in the process. On her lap, she held a tattered old book in a white-knuckled grip.

When I climbed onto the platform near to her, I nodded in polite greeting, but she flinched away. As she did, I noticed several dark bruises hidden beneath the folds of her robes.

“Good morning, XiaoFan.” I quickly reached out and tapped the book she was holding. “What’s this?”

“No… Nothing…”

I bowed my head. “Alright. Good luck in the competition.”

Not wanting to cause the girl more anxiety than necessary, I took my seat without another word. Then, I opened my mental library to see what she had been reading.

When I saw the title of her book, I couldn't help but stare in stunned amazement. It was called “The Heaven-Breaking Sword Sovereign.” After reading a few pages, I found that the book was little more than a poorly written historical fiction. Why was she carrying it around? Why was she gripping it so tightly?

Thankfully, with my perfect copy and touch reading abilities, my mental library could make a perfect copy of any book I touched. These were not ‘ideal’ copies. They were exact replicas. So, when I had copied XiaoFan’s book, the copy that had been created contained all the flaws of the original, allowing me to quickly identify the portion of the book that she had apparently been most interested in.

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JianRong placed his hand upon the oath stone and looked up into the Heavens.

“I swear by the blood of my slain children that, within a year, my blade will claim JueBin’s life. If I fail in this mission, may the Heavens strike me down.”

Flipping to later in the book, I found that upon being defeated in battle, JueBin committed suicide. Then, because JueBin had taken his own life, JianRong’s Oath was broken, and he was struck down by Heavenly lightning.

I glanced at XiaoFan out of the corner of my eye. Why had she brought that book to the competition? Was she planning to expose how Bo had died?

I cleared my throat to get her attention. “Do you still wish to become my subordinate?”

XiaoFan froze.

“You didn’t tell them. Even when they beat you, you kept silent.” I turned to face her. “I don’t care what your original intentions were when you joined me. All you need to do is tell me if, right now, you want to become my subordinate.”

XiaoFan stared forward with unfocused eyes. “Will you kill me?”

“No. You can show the elders that book if you wish. It won’t change anything. They already know what happened. However, you should be aware that doing so would be tantamount to accusing the Patriarch’s grandson of murder. While I might not care, others may not be so forgiving.”

A tear appeared in the corner of XiaoFan’s eye. “I… I don’t know what to do.”

I nodded and turned my head to stare straight ahead. “We have time. Think on it.”

An hour later, the competition began.

With the chair for the ninth-ranked elite vacant, I had thought the elders might use some novel method to fill it. Instead, they did their best to act like the empty seat didn’t even exist.

A few of the normal Disciples decided to challenge the elites, and they were swiftly defeated. However, none of them were killed.

Following this, the elder began the challenges between the elites.

The young man in the sixth seat stepped onto the stage and looked at XiaoFan with a menacing glare.

“I challenge her.”

The elder looked at XiaoFan. “Step forward.”

XiaoFan squeezed her eyes closed and then mustered the courage to step onto the stage. However, before the elder could begin the fight, she gave him a deep bow.

“I resign.”

The elder glanced at her and then turned to the balcony where YuanFei gave him a slight shake of his head. Then, he looked at XiaoFan with false compassion.

“I’m sorry, girl. You cannot resign without fighting.” The elder looked between the two contestants. “Begin!”

Having trained XiaoFan, I was well aware that she could have easily defeated her opponent, but she didn’t even move to defend herself. So, after a single hit, she was knocked to the ground.

The fight didn’t end, though. Her opponent mercilessly broke both of her arms and both of her legs in several places. The elder didn’t step in until there was a real risk that she would be beaten to death.

As he walked back to his seat, XiaoFan’s opponent gave me a look of triumph.

I turned my head to ShouDu. “Why is he so eager to die?”

ShouDu took in a sharp breath and looked at me, aghast. “Death? Cousin, are you saying that you wish to kill a member of your own clan?”

If nothing else, ShouDu’s absolute confidence in himself and his position within the clan was impressive.

Laughing slightly, I returned my gaze to the stage in front of us without comment.

When the elder carried XiaoFan back to her seat, he wasn’t exactly gentle, but he wasn't so ruthless as to cause her further injuries.

Afterward, a few of the other elites fought against each other, but none of them challenged either me or ShouDu.

When the competition was over, we all returned to our homes.

I considered going out to look for XiaoFan, but even when she was being crippled, she hadn’t called out for my assistance. She hadn’t tried to frame me for Bo’s death, but she also hadn’t asked to join me, so I would leave her to follow the path she had chosen.

The next morning, all the elites were brought to the main hall of the Second Elder’s home.

Ten mats had been arranged in front of YuanFei and the other Grandmasters, but only eight of them were occupied. Bo was dead, and XiaoFan lay on a stretcher off to the side.

Once everyone was assembled, YuanFei cleared his throat and gave us a martial salute.

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“Congratulations on completing your training. With everyone in our clan being as skilled as they are, remaining an elite can be a difficult task, but it is one that all of you have successfully accomplished.”

After giving the children around me a chance to look at each other with smug smiles, YuanFei continued.

“Su ShouDu, as the first-ranked elite, you are awarded 100 gold coins, three High-Quality Meridian Builder Pills, and your choice of any martial technique from the clan’s main Technique Hall.”

“Su Fang, as the second-ranked elite, you are awarded 50 gold coins, one High-Quality Meridian Builder Pill, and your choice of a Peak-Yellow martial technique.”

YuanFei rattled off the rewards that each of the others would receive. Then, the Second Elder took the floor.

“Su ShouDu, you have shown exceptional martial prowess, and you have the blessing of a powerful warrior. As such, you will be sent to the Red Sun Kingdom to fight for the glory of our clan as a member of their army.”

ShouDu cupped his fists and bowed. “Yes, elder.”

The Second Elder looked at me. “Su Fang, you not only have a solid cultivation base, but you are also a powerful warrior. However, your blessing is that of a minister. The Grand Elder has asked for you to be assigned as his subordinate. He will teach you how you can best serve your clan and your Patriarch.”

Following ShouDu’s lead, I cupped my fists and bowed. “Yes, elder.”

Then, the elder turned to the third-ranked elite. “Su YongTian—”

ShouDu cupped his fists. “Elder, I request that YongTian to join me in the Red Sun Kingdom.”

The Second Elder smiled and nodded. “Very well—”

“I also request that you send XiangTu, YueBin, and…” ShouDu looked at me with a malicious grin. “XiaoFan.”

The elder nodded again. “Very—”

From the stretcher where she was lying, XiaoFan let out a soft cough.

“I… I want to join Young Master Fang.” She looked at me. “I want to serve as his subordinate.”

I nodded at her and then looked at the elder. “I will accept her.”

ShouDu cleared his throat. “Elder, XiaoFan needs both training and experience. From her performance, it is clear that her time with Cousin Fang has been wasted. Please, allow me to help her grow to her true potential.”

The Second Elder tapped his chin. “What you say makes sense. Very well, XiaoFan shall accompany Young Master ShouDu.”

I bowed my head in acceptance of this decision.

While I had wanted to spend some time perfecting my cultivation base, I would have to put that off for later. The Second Elder had decided that the Su Clan needed an immediate change of leadership, and I would respect his decision.