Chapter 310: Life and Death Are Up to Fate

Quite a few people grew secretly excited. It looked as though there truly would be a spectacular show to watch. Linghu Qiu and Feng Entai, however, felt their hearts pounding with alarm. Both silently cried out the same thing. Little Brother, whatever you do, don't lose your head! Fire Phoenix's nerves tightened as she stared at Niu Youdao. Inside the pavilion, Qin Yong and the others looked at one another. Niu Youdao had pretended to lose before? None of them were fools.

After thinking about it for a moment, they understood. Niu Youdao had wanted to fake a defeat and leave without creating further trouble. Kunlin Shu had simply refused to let him escape. After being cursed in front of everyone, the flames around Kunlin Shu surged violently. Niu Youdao did not stop. He had finally seen clearly what kind of pride drove Kunlin Shu. He raised a hand and pointed at him furiously.

"I endured you and yielded to you because I respect Tianhuo Sect and refused to profane its name!"

"I also know perfectly well that I cannot afford to provoke Tianhuo Sect. That's why I backed down again and again."

"Who would've imagined Tianhuo Sect could produce someone as incapable of appreciating goodwill as you!"

"You want to fight, don't you?"

"If you're relying on Tianhuo Sect's power to bully me, I'll willingly concede."

"But if you're challenging me in your own personal capacity, I'll accompany you anytime!"

Kunlin Shu shouted back, "This has nothing to do with Tianhuo Sect. I'm challenging you in my own name!"

Niu Youdao roared, "How do you prove that?"

"How do you guarantee that if you lose, Tianhuo Sect won't come after me?"

"You claim this is your personal challenge, but the whole of Tianhuo Sect stands behind you exerting pressure on me!"

"If you lose, one fellow disciple after another can keep appearing. What kind of personal challenge is that?"

"Where is the fairness?"

"I already conceded and let you win. Isn't that enough?"

"You know perfectly well I don't dare offend Tianhuo Sect, yet you still talk about fighting without holding back and demand that I show my true strength."

"What posturing!"

"I've seen shameless men before, but never one as shameless as you!"

"Let everyone beneath Heaven judge whether there is any justice in this!"

Every sentence struck at the heart of the matter. Kunlin Shu trembled with rage. Yet Niu Youdao's reasoning was sound enough that he could not refute it. In fury, Kunlin Shu swept one arm outward. The flames covering him flickered and vanished instantly. He turned sharply toward the pavilion.

"Everyone present can bear witness!"

"I also ask the disciples of Daqiu Sect and Xuanbing Sect to testify."

"This challenge is between Niu Youdao and me personally."

"Whatever the outcome, it has nothing to do with Tianhuo Sect!"

He spun back and pointed at Niu Youdao.

"Are you satisfied now?"

Niu Youdao asked, "Are the disciples of Daqiu Sect and Xuanbing Sect willing to stand as guarantors on behalf of your two sects?"

Inside the pavilion, the disciples of both sects looked at one another. Privately, all of them were muttering the same question. Was it really appropriate for them to guarantee something like this? On behalf of their entire sects?

If something happened to Kunlin Shu and Tianhuo Sect stepped forward for him afterward, would that not leave the people who gave this guarantee trapped between both sides? Some were even thinking it would be simpler just to kill Niu Youdao outright. Why all this needless fuss? Why drag them into it as well? Kunlin Shu's obsession with appearances was becoming unbearable. Fire Phoenix looked troubled.

"Senior Brother, why not spare him this once?"

Qin Yong rubbed his forehead.

"Kunlin Shu, forget it. Why lower yourself to argue with someone like this?"

Hearing those words from both of them only made Kunlin Shu angrier. Why did everyone make it sound as though they had no confidence in him? First the emperor. Now all of them too. Did he truly look that incompetent in everyone's eyes? Niu Youdao pointed toward the pavilion.

"You see? No one is willing to guarantee it."

"This is pure bullying through power."

"An unfair fight like this isn't worth fighting."

"I concede. You win!"

Kunlin Shu turned back toward the others.

"I've already made myself clear. This is my personal affair and has nothing to do with Tianhuo Sect."

"You do not need to shoulder any responsibility."

"I'm only asking you to stand as witnesses and speak one fair word. What is so difficult about that?"

"Brother Qin, Brother Hu, could it be that you look down on Tianhuo Sect and believe Tianhuo Sect would break its word?"

"Brother Qin" referred to Qin Yong of Daqiu Sect.

"Brother Hu" referred to Hu Tianhan of Xuanbing Sect.

Now that he had even raised the question of whether they looked down on Tianhuo Sect, the two men exchanged a helpless glance. Hu Tianhan turned to Fire Phoenix.

"Fire Phoenix, Kunlin Shu isn't calm right now."

"He's your senior brother and also your betrothed. You represent Tianhuo Sect and state your position first."

"If you say this is acceptable, we'll give the guarantee."

"If you refuse, then this guarantee is difficult for us to make."

Betrothed?

Niu Youdao gave Fire Phoenix another look. Fine rain began to drift from the sky. Kunlin Shu stood in the rain and looked at his junior sister. Fire Phoenix bit her lip and remained silent. She did not want to agree. The matter of Niu Youdao killing Zhuo Chao still weighed heavily on her mind. She and Kunlin Shu were already betrothed. She did not want any accident to happen to her senior brother.

Kunlin Shu moved slowly into the pavilion and stopped in front of her.

"Junior Sister!"

Fire Phoenix lowered her head. She did not want to face him. Nor did she want to nod. Hu Tianhan coughed dryly.

"I think we should forget this matter. Everyone disperse."

He turned as though to leave, wanting no part in this nonsense. Kunlin Shu became anxious. In front of everyone, he spoke words that carried real weight.

"Junior Sister, are you unwilling to stand of one heart with me?"

Fire Phoenix's head snapped up. She met his eyes. Her own eyes reddened, faint tears appearing within them. Gradually, she forced out a smile.

"All right. I agree."

Kunlin Shu's heart clenched hard. Yet he immediately turned and called after the men from the other two sects.

"Brother Hu! Brother Qin!"

Qin Yong and Hu Tianhan both looked deeply helpless.

Hu Tianhan asked, "Brother Qin, what do you say?"

Qin Yong sighed.

"Since Tianhuo Sect insists, then we'll comply rather than refuse."

"Good!" Hu Tianhan nodded.

Then he looked toward Niu Youdao outside.

"Niu Youdao, you heard that?"

Niu Youdao said, "The two sects are giving him this much face. Now I'm worried instead."

"If I win, the two sects won't step forward for him and cause trouble for me too, will they?"

Hu Tianhan became angry.

"Why do you have so much damned nonsense?"

"If you don't dare fight, then don't fight. Stop inventing excuses!"

"Why would we need to step forward for him?"

Niu Youdao asked, "May I take those words as a guarantee from your two sects?"

His gaze shifted toward Qin Yong. Qin Yong narrowed his eyes slightly. Why did it feel as though this fellow was advancing one step at a time, systematically cutting off Kunlin Shu's routes of survival while preparing a path of retreat for himself? Was he planning to kill Kunlin Shu? Or was there some other intention? Hu Tianhan waved a broad hand.

"Don't worry. Xuanbing Sect will not interfere in this rotten affair between the two of you, nor will we step forward for him."

"Fight or don't fight. Do whatever you like!"

Qin Yong glanced at him, then slowly added, "Provided you don't run wild within the borders of the State of Qi."

Since a guarantee had already been given, he had in a sense patched the hole in Hu Tianhan's words. If Niu Youdao dared run wild inside the State of Qi, Daqiu Sect would still act. Kunlin Shu turned and walked out of the pavilion. Once again, he faced Niu Youdao.

"Can you show your true strength now?"

Niu Youdao said, "When I make a move, I don't always know how to restrain it."

Then he slowly looked back toward Linghu Qiu and Feng Entai.

"Eldest Brother, Second Brother."

"Life and death are up to fate; success and failure rest with Heaven."

"If I die at his hands, simply collect my body."

"There is no need to avenge me!"

Feng Entai and Linghu Qiu were utterly speechless.

Avenge you?

What kind of joke was that? Did they even possess that ability? Qin Yong's eyelid, however, twitched sharply. He sensed more and more clearly the killing intent hidden inside Niu Youdao's words.

It felt as though Niu Youdao had already identified Kunlin Shu's weakness and was laying a trap for him. Qin Yong worried Kunlin Shu would fall into it. Yet what he feared happened immediately.

Kunlin Shu likewise shouted, "This is a matter between Niu Youdao and me personally. It has nothing to do with Tianhuo Sect."

"Life and death are up to fate; success and failure rest with Heaven!"

How had a challenge suddenly turned into a duel to the death? Fire Phoenix abruptly realized something as well.

She cried out, "Senior Brother..."

Kunlin Shu had waited too long already. He was burning for this fight and could no longer hear advice. Both arms shook. Flames once again roared over his entire body. The fine rain falling from the sky turned into mist the moment it drew near him.

"Take up your weapon!" he shouted.

"Otherwise, don't blame me later for winning without honor!"

Niu Youdao's face was full of mockery.

"Against you?"

"Dealing with an arrogant man like you, someone who doesn't even know shame, doesn't require a weapon!"

Kunlin Shu flew into a rage. He stopped holding back. One arm swept out. A fire dragon roared toward Niu Youdao. Niu Youdao's body shot upward with a whoosh. The fire dragon blasted through the space beneath his feet. He rose straight into the sky and instantly reached a height of more than ten zhang. The fire dragon wheeled around.

Kunlin Shu, wrapped in flame, shot upward as well like a blazing meteor, pursuing Niu Youdao through the air. Niu Youdao's upward momentum had already run out. His body flipped.

Head downward, feet upward, he spread both arms to balance himself and plunged directly toward Kunlin Shu rising from below. Kunlin Shu swept both arms again and again. Fire dragons burst from the flames surrounding him.

He looked almost like an enormous spider that had suddenly sprouted long blazing legs, with fire dragons lashing wildly toward Niu Youdao one after another. The scene was magnificent and dazzling. Quite a few spectators secretly marveled. Tianhuo Sect truly was extraordinary. Linghu Qiu and Feng Entai were quietly worried for Niu Youdao. Kunlin Shu claimed he used no weapon, yet his entire body had become a weapon. Niu Youdao now seemed to have nowhere left to evade.

Many spectators felt he had made the wrong tactical choice. He should never have taken the fight into the air. In midair, the options available for shifting and dodging were far fewer. Everyone inside the pavilion had already flashed outside. Heads tilted upward as they watched the battle overhead. A fire dragon came roaring straight at Niu Youdao. He neither dodged nor evaded. One palm thrust forward and struck the dragon head-on. In that instant, flame swept across his entire body.

Fire engulfed him from head to toe. Everyone watching from below silently cried out that Niu Youdao was finished. Their concern was unnecessary. The Qiankun Art was fundamentally an art of balancing yin and yang. Niu Youdao had no fear of flame. Otherwise, how would he have dared shout for a fight to the death? The true threat to him was not the fire itself. It was the attacking force Kunlin Shu had layered into the flames.

So there was no scene of Niu Youdao being burned alive. The fire dragon struck his palm and immediately flowed across his entire body. He guided it downward toward his feet.

Then it scattered outward like bursting fireworks, blooming beneath him like a flower of flame before vanishing into nothingness. Another fire dragon struck him. Then another. Each time, fireworks blossomed through the air. Beneath the dark, cloud-covered sky, the successive bursts of flame became dazzling ornaments suspended overhead. Kunlin Shu was shocked. The fire should have remained under his control. Yet the instant it struck Niu Youdao, the spiritual power attached to it collapsed. The flames immediately slipped beyond Kunlin Shu's control.

Fire Phoenix's expression changed as she watched.

Qin Yong said heavily, "Not good. Tianhuo Sect's Heavenly Fire Profound Art has no effect on him!"

Everything happened too quickly. Both men were moving at tremendous speed. By the time the spectators understood what had changed, the two fighters, one above and one below, had already crashed directly into each other. Niu Youdao plunged straight into the fireball surrounding Kunlin Shu. His Qiankun Palm blasted out with full force. Kunlin Shu had no time to dodge. Niu Youdao had already closed the distance.

With no other choice, Kunlin Shu poured every bit of his cultivation into one palm and struck with everything he had. Palm met palm head-on.

Boom!

A thunderous detonation erupted in midair. The flames around Kunlin Shu exploded outward like ripples spreading across water. Ring after ring of fire expanded through the sky like enormous vajra hoops. The fireball first burst outward into blazing rings.

Then those rings collapsed into scattered clusters of flame, breaking apart like drifting petals before dissolving into the air. The sight was magnificent.

[End of Chapter 310]