He was an imposing figure.
Where I was slim, he was thick with muscle. He wore sturdy chain armour of gleaming gold, trimmed with red and black lacquered leather. His pauldrons were sculpted to resemble two giant roaring lion heads breathing fire.
His curved sabre was in his fist, already aflame with white hot chi.
It could cut through steel with ease.
"You are merely a disciple of the Black Feathered Goose sect," he sneered, glancing at my uniform. "What makes them think they are big enough to send assassins to our sect?"
"Assassins?" I glanced back at the boy's corpse. "Oh, no, he wasn't with me."
"I wasn't talking about him!"
"But he was the only assassin here," I pointed out. "He tried to stab me with a sneak attack and Black Dragon Venom."
"I'm talking about you!"
"I'm not an assassin," I said, scowling at him. "I am Ten Cent Wey! What nonsense are you spouting? I have never been more insulted in all my life."
"Then why have you come here, killing our people?"
"There's been a misunderstanding," I told him. "I came with peaceful intentions. But these ants kept trying to run under my feet to nip at my toes."
The older man sniffed. "I could believe that if all you did was put down a few disciples. But you made a big mistake today, Ten Cent Wey. You killed the Sect Master's son!"
I shrugged. "His cultivation was poor. Look. He didn't even scratch me. I let him try more than ten times."
"If you bow to me five times, I will take you to the Sect Master and plead with him to kill you swiftly."
"I can't do that. If I died, who would look after my wife? She made me promise not to die so she wouldn't be alone. If I made her sad, she would find a way to punish me."
The big man shook his head. "I would be happy to go to her and end her life so she can join you."
I squinted up at him. He had the sun behind his back.
Some cultivators thought that was important.
"Are you saying you want to harm my wife?"
"You killed Helmit," the big man growled. "It won't just be your wife I'll be sent to destroy. It will be your entire sect."
"I came here with peaceful intentions," I insisted. "I just wanted to speak to the Arms Master."
"Speak, then, Ten Cent Wey. I will hear your words before dragging you to the Sect Master for judgment."
"You are the Arms Master?"
"I am."
I bowed to him. "Ten Cent Wey greets Arms Master Fing," I said, relieved to have found him so quickly. "I come from the Black Feathered Goose sect."
"I already know that much," he said drily.
"I come with news."
"What news?"
"Your son is dead."
"What?" He staggered, grabbing at his heart. His face turned ashen white. "My son!"
"Merald Fing," I said. "That was his name, yes?"
"Merald!"
Another figure arrived with a whoosh of chi, landing beside the Arms Master. Their resemblance was uncanny, I thought.
"Father! What is happening?"
"He…" The Arms Master pointed his sword at me, still struggling to understand my words. "Gun, he brings word that your brother has fallen!"
"Alas," I said. "He died."
"How?" Gun rounded on me, fury in his stance. "Who would dare harm my little brother?"
"He was bullying a young girl," I said. "In her tavern."
"She should be honoured for his attention!"
"She wasn't," I said flatly.
"Where is this tavern? I will burn it to the ground!"
I scratched my armpit, feeling the itch of old fleas.
Dealing with people like this always made me feel like I was resting in an inn where the beds hadn't been washed and the sheets smelled like the sweat of every man who'd slept there before.
It was uncomfortable.
"I don't think she needs any more trauma," I told him. "Dealing with your weak brother was enough, don't you think?"
"Weak?" He fumed, chi rushing to cycle around his body. "You dare call my brother weak? He was the Number Two Talent last year!"
I waved a hand dismissively. "Number Two is nothing. Only Number One is important."
"If you think this, you will die happy," Gun growled. "For I was Number One."
I looked him up and down critically.
"Did your father pay for you to win?"
"Insolent worm!" He flashed towards me, whipping a sword from its scabbard as he flew across the ground. His chi ripped at the earth with every step, growing stronger and stronger until the tip of his sword was only an inch from my face.
Then he released his control with a tight grunt which blew a torrent of chi past my face in a superheated wave.
The blast should have disintegrated my face.
Unfortunately, he was weak.
Far too weak.
I shook my head as I batted his sword aside with a contemptuous flick of my finger. "Step back," I said. "You are not strong enough to be my opponent."
"Insolent trash!" He curled his fingers into a fist, pulling a thick layer of chi over his hand like a glove of burning light.
It condensed thicker and harder than stone as he aimed the punch at my chest, hoping to slam it into my sternum and destroy my heart in the shockwave of its impact.
I lifted my hand and his fist smashed into my palm.
The impact exploded outward, blasting the surrounding area and destroying the wall of a nearby building. Someone inside screamed.
The triumph on his face turned to confusion as he looked from his trapped fist to my smile. "What?"
"They key to overwhelming power is to cultivate hard," I told him. "Let me show you the result of a life spent in dedication to cultivation."
I slapped him.
My fingers impacted with his lower jaw and his head exploded, sending fragments fountaining into the air as high as a hundred metres before raining down around his father.
Holm Fing, Arms Master of the Fire Plum sect gawked like a shocked chicken.
"Gun!"
"Hmm," I said, flicking my wrist to send blood spattering across the ground. "It appears you did not teach your sons very well, Arms Master. Neither of them had any strength in cultivation. It is a shame that their arrogance killed both of them."
"You… You killed…"
"We are demonic cultivators, so I know you respect the ideal that strength is the only way to achieve complete dao supremacy. I came here today only to tell you that it was I, Ten Cent Wey, who killed your son, Merald. I did not expect to have to kill another one along the way," I shook my head sadly. "Alas, fate is as unfathomable as it is mysterious."
"What?" He lifted himself as his anger started to reassert itself. "Are you telling me that you killed Merald?"
"I did," I said. "Although, it is fairer to say that his arrogance killed him. Were he to concentrate more on cultivation and less on tavern wenches, he might still be alive."
"Sect Master," the Arms Master heaved with seething hatred. His eyes glowed bright with fire. "Forgive me. I am unable to deliver this man to you for your justice. He has killed both of my sons. I must kill him myself!"
"Ridiculous," I hissed. "Your sons chose meaninglessness over their dao. Why would you do the same? Are you saying the apple really doesn't fall far from its tree?"
"I swear," the Arms Master growled, pulling more and more chi from his surroundings. I felt the air grow cold as it swept past me and into the whirlwind forming around him. "I will kill you today, Ten Cent Wey! I cannot face the spirits of my sons without shame if I let you live another breath!"
"If you wish to die and meet them again," I said, crooking my finger at him. "Then, come. I will not stop you. But I'm afraid you will be kneeling before them and begging forgiveness for failing them as a father!"
"Failed? I?" He stamped a foot which made the earth shake. "You dare?"
"I do!" I stomped my foot, too, making him stumble as the earth shook even more violently. "It is your responsibility to teach your children to respect their elders! To teach them to earn their strength with their own arm! To cultivate their body and soul, not their eyes and mouth! Greed and arrogance lead inevitably to a shameful death! You failed to teach them this. How are their deaths my fault? Your words shame yourself and insult me. Now. Bow three times and beg forgiveness or I will not leave your body intact!"
"You…" he frothed at the mouth. "Ten Cent Wey! You're courting death!"
He moved like a blur of gold and steel.
The chi around him roared and waves of volcanic heat blasted over me as he charged right at me. A sonic boom ripped through the air like thunder.
His sword sang.
His technique was flawless.
"Nice footwork," I said, holding up a finger. The point of his sword met the tip of my finger, the point unable to even prick my skin. He came to a crashing halt which sent a wave of air crashing over me while he wheeled violently to keep his balance. "But your cultivation is weak. You are barely Third Stage. Like your son, you are not qualified to be my opponent."
"I will kill you," he howled, pulling back and raising the sword. "Take my blow!"
Lightning tore through the clouds above, spearing down to blast into the top of my head. I felt the bolt's superheated plasma as it whipped through my meridians and lanced deep inside my dantian, aiming for my core.
I let it come.
I let it dance across the surface, snapping and cracking like an electric dragon filled with fury.
"It is done," the Arms Master panted, closing his eyes in satisfaction. He raised his face to the sky, calling; "My sons, your father has avenged you!"
"Good for you," I said, brushing dust away as the lightning flickered and died. "Was that your trump move? I'm happy for you to try again if you want. The energy I gained was beneficial. My dantian has absorbed it and will use the storm chi to further condense my core. I thank you, Arms Master, for your gift."
"Gift?" He sputtered, spitting blood. "Are you mocking me?"
"Not at all. I'm most grateful. Do you think you can do it again?"
"I will kill you. I will!"
His strike lacked chi. I could see he was completely drained.
"Disappointing," I said, batting the sabre to one side like it was a toy. I raised my hand to slap him. "I was told your sect was the biggest one in the region. That everyone feared your anger. But if you are what passes for an Arms Master, then I wonder at the truth of this."
"Halt your arm, Ten Cent Wey!" A fierce voice called from above. "If you dare to harm my disciple, I will beat you so hard your soul will be too damaged to return to the Resurrection Wheel!"
"Sect Master!" Fing cried. "Save me! This bastard killed my sons, and has also killed the Young Master, Helmit!"
"You dare?" The Sect Master roared, his voice rising to a pitch which made my ears ring. I think even my wife would be hard pressed to get that high. "There will be no mercy for you now, Ten Cent Wey! I will break your legs, cripple your cultivation, and scatter your soul across the Nine Heavens!"
"Everywhere I go," I said to the Arms Master, whose face had warped into an insolent sneer. "All I hear is the yapping of useless dogs."
Then I slapped him, turning his head to mist.