Chapter 9
Time waits for none.
The spring of childhood soon fades and it turns into the summer of youth.
One's blood boils with passion, the mind desires to explore the unknown.
The sudden attraction towards the opposite sex, the rebellious mentality, desire for freedom. Different emotions germinate in their heart.
It's a strange phase where the younglings feel that they are grown up and ready to take the world themselves.
They tend to listen to their peers more than their parents. Yet ironically, the role of parents grows even more.
Approaching the children as friends rather than as a guardian, giving them space for themselves while keeping their behaviour in check. The values and disciple instilled during this period carve the leaders of tomorrow.
The three years of harsh training regiment had completely changed Tianlong. Both physically and mentally.
Standing over 1.8 metres tall, his muscular physique dwarfed most among his peers. The intense physical training had sculpted his body to an epitome of male beauty.
His forearms and lower legs were completely covered by azure scales. The draconic horns on his head were longer than an adult's finger. The growth of his horns caused his father to comment that Tianlong was getting hornier by the day.
The change in his personality was just as drastic as his physical appearance.
Not only had his parents taught him their weapons, but also their values.
His archery which was composed of shooting flying boulders before, now changed into hunting vicious beasts. He liked procuring his food.
His sword now no longer swung at empty air and wood. It had already been dyed in the blood of others. Every week, his mother would take him to the clan's prison where he needed to execute all the mortal death row inmates. In his mother's words, this was all for polishing the dao heart.
Today was a similar day.
Tianlong stood before a convict who was supposed to be executed.
His face was expressionless and his eyes cold. There was a sharp air surrounding him unique to swordsmen.
"Would you let me free if I manage to defeat him?"
The voice of a tall middle-aged man sounded.
He wasn't looking at Tianlong but at Long Qianmei. She was the most beautiful woman he had seen in his life. Yet, the man only felt fear and helplessness while looking at her.
"No." She said with an expressionless face. "You'll be left alive until he can kill you with his own hands."
Once he heard her words, his heart was filled with despair.
The man was called Mo Chen.
In the past, he had entered an immortal temple and tried to cultivate. Unfortunately, the man had negligible spirit affinity and could only partially awaken one of his acupoints.
But even that little spiritual energy made him far stronger than a mortal. He was one of the most famous mortal sellswords in Azure Spring City.
His incredible swordsmanship along with the senses and strength of a false cultivator made him unbeatable among the mortals.
Prestige and respect he had everything. The only thing he lacked was love in his life. During one of his missions, he was escorting the wife of one of the wealthiest merchant in the city.
In the one week that he was in contact with her, he was completely mesmerised by her beauty.
The beauty noticed the gleam in his eyes and responded to his love. She told him how her husband abused her and had relationships with many other women.
Her words made him extremely infuriated. After much planning and decision, the two planned to kill her husband.
Once he was murdered, she would marry Mo Chen who would then inherit all the property.
And that's how everything fell apart.
He was captured now and waiting for his death.
"Would you interrupt me if I'm about to kill him?" Mo Chen asked.
"Yes." She answered in the same emotionless voice.
By now he understood that he was nothing more than a stepping stone.
Looking at Tianlong, his eyes flashed with hatred. He knew that even if he didn't draw his sword, the other would definitely kill him.
With a dark expression, he unsheathed his sword. Tianlong followed suit.
As compared to Tianlong's sword, Mo Chen's sword was thinner and sharper.
For a long moment, they stood motionlessly, watching each other.
Hundreds of thoughts flashed through their minds as they observed their opponent.
Mo Chen recalled the beautiful face of the woman he loved. Although he had freed her from her husband, he wouldn't be there for her. The strength of Long Qianmei was such that she could crush him like an ant.
Tianlong thought back to all the people that died underneath his sword. Some of them were crazy, some were calm, some asked for mercy. There were many exceptional people among them. But no matter what, none of their swordsmanships could compare to his mother's. To date, he had never managed to land a single hit on her.
With a blur of motion, Mo Chen came in front of him, slashing at his chest. Tianlong parried the attack, and their blades met in a shower of sparks. Tianlong didn't take advantage of the opening but spun to his left, and sent a spinning kick towards Mo Chen's abdomen.
Mo Chen used the sheath on his other arm and casually defended the incoming attack, proving that his physical strength was nothing to scoff at. He then delivered a diagonal slash at Tianlong's abdomen which he evaded with a sidestep.
Understanding that the only way to stay alive was to prove his skill and defeat the young man in front of him, he began the most advanced series of attacks that he knew.
He went from one pose to another, performing the complex series of stances that he had created in his lifetime. But no matter what he did, Tianlong's sword met his actions with effortless grace. Moreover, all of his movements seemed to be composed of only the basic sword stances.
Engaged in fierce combat, their bodies resembled as if they were dancing. The sparks from the blade accentuating its fiery beauty.
While the young one's movement contained strength and elegance, Mo Chen's attacks showed his complexity and experience. At times their blades nearly cut the other, only to be evaded by the other like drifting smoke.
Tianlong didn't remember how long he fought for. All he knew was that he was thoroughly enjoying himself but a single mistake of his could cost his life.
Mo Chen's legs started to become weak and the sword in his arms started to get heavy. Apparently, the demonically handsome male in front of him possessed strength that far surpassed his own…
Knowing that he couldn't let this continue, he decided to finish it quickly. Mo Chen thrust his blade in a piercing motion towards Tianlong, reflecting the sunlight in his eyes.
The cell was dark and only a small hole was there which allowed the entry of sunlight.
Tianlong squinted due to the blinding light and defended herself with the blade. Seeing that, Mo Chan withdrew the sword while giving a lightning-fast kick to Tianlong's hand to knock off the weapon.
However, Tianlong who had only used the sheath to defend himself till now used it to sweep at Mo Chen's other leg. This completely threw the man off balance and he fell off.
Swish!
With the flash of the sword, Mo Chen's windpipe was severed.
"Zhu'er…"
As the blood gurgled out of his neck, the man convulsed in pain. In the end, he died uttering his woman's name. There was a smile on his face.
Watching this, Tianlong's expression became complicated.
"Until his death, he loved her. Not knowing that he was just a chesspiece of her…"
"Splendid!" The voice of Long Qianmei sounded from behind. She walked up to him with a smile on her face. "You have learnt the maximum of what I can teach you as a mortal. Any more, and you would be walking my path not your own..."
Noticing the expression on his face, she stopped.
"Do you feel bad for him?"
"No" Tianlong firmly shook his head. "It was his fault for believing her words without proof and doing her bidding. If I should feel bad for someone, it should be the husband. Poor guy died without any fault."
"His fault was having too much money and possessing a bad eye for women." Long Qianmei said calmly.
The woman surnamed Zhu had an illicit affair with another young man. She used Mo Chen's affection for her and planned in killing her husband. In the end, she was the one who called the guards to detain him.
Unfortunately for her, the merchant was acquainted with Long Clan. Her ploys were seen through in a single glance after which they soul searched and killed both her and her lover. The business was also sieged.
Mo Chen didn't know any of this until his death. He hadn't seen her calling for the guards. He was still under the impression that whatever happened was just his bad luck. Even if he knew, he still chose to delude himself.
Tianlong also didn't bother telling him. Otherwise, the man would lose his heart even before the fight.
"Love was his weakness and shackle. Don't let it be yours." She looked at Tianlong and said meaningfully.
"You may share your bed with someone for a night, but that doesn't mean that you need to for an eternity."
Tianlong didn't say anything. He had already formed his conjectures on this matter long ago.
"Do you also feel shackled by father and me?"
"Yes." She immediately answered. "If the two of you weren't in my life, I would be much freer. I wouldn't need to consider how my actions would affect you two …but such a life, where the two of you aren't there, I don't want to live."
She looked at her son with a loving gaze. "Son, just like how you are the weakness of the two of us, we are also your weakness. Whatever action any one of us take, will have consequences on the others. Unless you can bear that responsibility, you shouldn't even think about marriage."
The incident with Mo Chen was tragic but it couldn't shake him. If anything it reminded him to never shackle himself with love and marriage. This was an idea planted by his mother's ideal and the things he observed.
Meanwhile, Qianmei waved her hand and collected the corpse of Mo Chen. Tianlong had started the study of biology for the past few years. He studied and experimented on the corpses of his victims.
"Mum, you say I have no scope of improvement, but my sword has never managed to touch you once. So, isn't there still a lot to learn from you?"
Smiling at his question, she replied "Did you really think that you can defeat me with only a few years of practice?"
Tianlong was tongue-tied. In the end, he could only smile wryly.
Seeing this, her eyes filled with gentleness.
She tried to ruffle his hair but unfortunately, he was already taller than her. Her child had grown much faster than she would've liked.
Just as she was about to take back her hand, Tianlong lowered his head and made it touch her palm.
In front of his mother, he would always remain a child.
She smiled at her son's action and pinched his cheeks. "Come, I know that you must be feeling hungry."
Speaking of hunger, it had gone out of proportion for Tianlong.
After checking his vitals, they found that he was incredibly close to attaining the first stages of both Qi Condensation and Blood Surging realm.
His parents were shocked at his training speed and wanted him to choose his path.
Being unsure, he decided to cultivate the first stage of both.
His parents had enough resources to nurture him for the first few major stages, so none of them complained much.
But even so, they reminded him that cultivating like this was impractical. Not to mention the resources required, even the time and energy one had before immortal ascension was limited.