The grey-clad. (7)

There was no time to waste once both parties had come to an agreement so they set out immediately. Ren Xiao Ping naturally took the lead, quickly contacting some people through different jade slips. Liang Chen and his entourage followed behind her, momentarily gazing upon her silver hair from behind. He couldn't tell who she was contacting or what she was telling them, but he could feel her nerves in her subtle movements. She was definitely confident, assured of her own victory even. Yet her nerves would not leave her, that creeping anxiety that slid up her spine.

Liang Chen moved his gaze slightly, golden pupils sweeping the city around them. He could see them, the citizens that were moving about. People clad in armor, probably soldiers, were also moving around, guiding the citizens away. It wasn't to the point of evacuating the city, but Xiao Ping was definitely working on getting the citizens as far as possible away from them, she was probably worried that the aftershocks of the duel would reach them, or that someone would accidentally stray too close.

Well, she could also be worried that he would go back on his words after losing and start attacking as he pleased. She was the Crown Princess of the Sebettu, these were her people, citizens that relied on her. She had no choice but to think about every possible outcome, and had no choice but to always believe that one of the three worst ones would come to pass, only like that would she be able to keep them safe.

"Everything has been prepared, it's not far now."

Xiao Ping gave a short comment not too long after they left the restaurant, she seemed to have finished contacting all those who had to be notified. A rather spectacular building unfolded a bit in front of them, it was similar to the coliseums he had occasionally seen back on his home planet, complete with large stands for people to watch the duels. If he had to point out a difference then it would be the totems he could see scattered about around the lone large stage. Large grey pillars carved with reliefs of Rahu, the great serpent that they hailed from. Some of the totems were topped with statues or images of other beasts or people, but Liang Chen didn't know whether or not they represented enemies Rahu had vanquished or allies he had made while still alive.

"'The Great Arena'."

Xiao Ping stood in the air, gazing down upon the stadium as she spoke. There was a slight downtrodden tone to her voice, an almost mocking nuance as the corners of her lips twisted somewhat.

"I'm different from you, Liang Chen."

She opened her mouth again, her gaze not on Liang Chen but on the arena beneath them as well as the area around it. She seemed a bit melancholic, that was probably why she was suddenly this chatty. Or perhaps she just wanted to talk about it with someone, Liang Chen was the only one in a similar situation to her so he might be the only one who could listen to her, the only one who might be able to somewhat understand her.

"You were sent through time almost directly after your birth, too young to even form any memories. I was young when I was sent away to protect me, but not so young that I can't remember anything. I had seen glimpses of it, flashes of the brilliance that used to be the Sebettu."

Liang Chen was but an infant, but Xiao Ping had been almost 11 when she was sent through time by her parents. She had lived with them, she had ran with them, she had been loved by both them and the Sebettu around them.

"Back then, our Great Arena was different. We had multiple of them, scattered across different planets, each one with varying sizes based on the importance of those who fought on them. The smallest one, for lower-ranked administrators and entertainment matches, was a little bit bigger than this one, at least 50 or so kilometers across. And that was only the smallest one. Some covered half a planet, while others still covered entire planets so that the elders could fight properly. It was grand, Liang Chen, it was brilliant."

Her dark grey eyes shimmered as her head moved, taking in a sight that was no longer there. This would be the first duel she ever took part in, the first Rahu's judgment she would take part in. But she had seen it before in the past, when she was just a child and the various administrators were arguing about how to handle the ongoing wars.

"And then, in the blink of an eye, it was all gone. I opened my eyes to a changed world, a world that didn't welcome me. The people I knew as a child, dead. The homes I knew, reduced to rubble or taken over by others. The glory I knew, renounced as sin. The blink of an eye, Liang Chen. Only then did I realize how much something can change in such a short amount of time, and yet how little something can change as well." 

From the highest peak to the lowest low, Xiao Ping had made that plunge in an instant as she was sent through time. The wars were over, they had lost every last one of them and been reduced to 'monsters'. Whatever the truth was didn't matter, all that mattered was that they had lost the war. When she opened her eyes, the war had ended long ago, it had been over for so long that it felt ridiculous to think about. But the brutality remained the same, the hatred remained the same. The war was over and everything had changed, yet nothing had changed at the same time.

"This is the home we managed to protect despite the hatred of the world, this is the safe haven we just barely manged to maintain by bowing our heads. I will not let you turn it upside down and send my people fleeing again."

She got to the crux of her intentions, locking eyes with Liang Chen for a moment before she started her descent towards the arena. Yan Ling, standing next to Liang Chen, allowed her gaze to follow Xiao Ping as she leaned closer to Liang Chen.

"She's quite brash, but she has a very strong sense of responsibility. Kind of similar to you, don't you think so, Little Freak?"

Her sapphire blue eyes narrowed slightly as the corners of her lips curled up with an almost amused purr. A few strands of her cyan hair had slipped out from her braid and were hanging in front of her face, but she wasn't in a rush to fix them as she smirked at Liang Chen.

There was no one she knew who was more brash than Liang Chen, no one who could be more reckless. And at the same time, she knew no one who had a stronger sense of responsibility than him. The fire that consumed him as a child, he still allowed it to burn him despite how weary he had become over the years.

"So, lets get down and knock her around a bit so that you can have a talk with your parents. But she's still your sister, so at least try to go a smidge easy on her, okay?"

Yan Ling did not doubt Liang Chen for even a moment. If they just looked at his cultivation then he would be just about barely within the Transcended Immortal realm, a fair bit below herself who had reached the Sovereign God realm thanks to the help of the Nine Star Demon God. And sure, based on what she knew, Xiao Ping had already killed three Sovereign Gods so she was clearly very powerful. 

And yet, she could not find an ounce of doubt within her, there wasn't a single cell of her body that believed for even a second that Liang Chen could lose. He was different from them, he was different from the rest of the world, he was someone who you could not use any semblance of logic or sense to understand. Truly, he was a freak, her Little Freak.

"Yeah, let's get this over with."

Liang Chen spoke simply and calmly, this trip to the Sebettu had been exhausting. Those wanting to drag him into the Sebettu, those wanting to chase him away, those wanting to have him open his arms to long lost family he felt nothing for. It was all just so… Tiresome.

The group descended after Xiao Ping and landed within the arena, passing through something that felt like a thin screen of water when they passed by the totems. Probably a defensive curtain meant to keep the audience safe, it would explain a few things.

But just as Xiao Ping had said, there were no spectators here this time. The stands were completely empty, their only audience would be the judges and the quiet whispering of the wind that blew through the arena.

Five people stood at the side of the arena, some old and some young. Well, at least they looked young, but Liang Chen could tell at a glance that they weren't actually young.

As for the five people, elders of varying ranks, they couldn't help but flinch when Liang Chen's eyes reached them. They could feel his gaze in their souls, it felt as if they had turned into quilt, his eyes slowly but surely undoing them thread by thread to see what they were made from.

"Good."

It was a simple word, but when it fell from Liang Chen's lips the five elders felt as if a weight had been lifted from their chests, allowing them to breathe again. Xiao Ping had been smart and not brought over any elders that had committed any great sins, these were all people he could allow to live. Xiao Ping also let out a stealthy breath thanks to Liang Chen's comment, but her eyes were more focused on the uninvited person standing on the arena.

"You have great ears."

Short dark silver hair and grey eyes that bordered on black, Ren Shuya had also arrived at the arena along with the five elders. With him here, the three siblings had all gathered. Thinking about it, this might just be the first time all three of them were in the same place and facing each other. Normally, it would probably be a rather joyous occasion. But the heavy air made it hard for anyone to think of it as anything but tense.

"That's how the Sebettu survived the decline, Xiao, we sharpened the senses we had previously neglected. You know that this is a foolish endeavor, don't you? No one will be satisfied with this outcome."

Xiao Ping had seen the Sebettu at their peak and then at their bottom, but Ren Shuya had seen them go from that peak to the bottom, he had been with them every step of the way. He had personally seen their suffering, and he had seen how they had survived. Information had been the first step. No matter where it was or what they did, it had always been information that was the most important. Spies here, spies there, informants spread out as far as possible. The more they knew, the easier it would be for them to escape and survive. He still lived by those ideals.

"Don't play with words, Shuya. You won't be satisfied with this outcome, don't turn an 'I' into an 'Us'."

Xiao Ping and Ren Shuya were evidently in somewhat opposite camps when it came to Liang Chen, arguing rather openly as they stood there.

"Mother and Father will also be sad to see you fighting like this. Do you really think they want to see their children come to blows?"

Ren Shuya's gaze momentarily slid towards Liang Chen, as well as Yan Ling who stood next to him. Was he perhaps hoping that Yan Ling was going to help him call a stop to this? Whatever it was he hoped for, neither Liang Chen nor Yan Ling answered, leaving it to Xiao Ping.

"Father and Mother have both fought against their own siblings in the past when it came to their ideals, do you think they stopped because of something their parents said? Do you think so little of our ideals?"

You did not become an Apex species without some friction, and once you spread across multiple universes it was inevitable that this friction would grow. It was before the war, before the downfall, but their parents had both brought some of their own family to the arena just like this to settle their differences. Ren Shuya clearly had a rebuttal, but Xiao Ping did not allow him to voice it, cutting him off before he even got to open his mouth.

"This will not stop, Ren Shuya. We have agreed to the duel for the sake of bringing a peaceful end to this. Stand down unless you mean that it is fine for our citizens to die."

With Xiao Ping dragging in the citizens, there was no room left for Ren Shuya to say anything. He was naturally fine with Liang Chen killing a few more of their elders, it was why he had sent out the first one to serve as a peace offering. But that didn't mean that he could say it openly in front of others, no one would follow him if he did that.

With Ren Shuya left with no recourse but silence, Xiao Ping turned her gaze towards one of the judges, who quickly cleared their throat.

"Ahem, yes, then please allow this one to go over the rules once more for both parties."

The judge swiped her interspatial ring as she started to talk, bringing out a scroll that Liang Chen recognized as a Soul Oath. Should someone who signed it break the pact then they would find their soul destroyed by the heavens. Naturally, there were actually a few ways to get around an oath like this, but it was generally considered safe.

"Once Rahu's Judgment has started, both parties will be expressively forbidden from killing the other participants, this is merely meant to serve as a duel where two parties can work out their differences, it is not a killing ground. Both parties will have a total of five moves each, if neither party can defeat or establish a clear superiority after said five moves are over then it falls to the judges to declare a winner. Should both parties agree to these rules then they will have to swear an oath that they will abide by the pre-established demands of the opposing party."

The scroll was unfurled and its contents revealed to Liang Chen and Xiao Ping, who both took a moment to read over its contents, just to be sure.

"Do you both agree?"

There was nothing wrong with the contents of the oath, it was exactly as they had discussed in the restaurant. If Xiao Ping won then Yan Ling and Liang Chen would stay in their room until his biological parents back for the meeting. But if he won, then Xiao Ping would end this farce and immediately call back his biological parents so that they could start the meeting straight away.

"I agree."

Liang Chen naturally agreed and signed the contract, a sliver of energy leaving the paper as he put his signature on it. But once it entered his body and tried to merge into his soul, it simply vanished. No, perhaps saying it was erased was more apt, reduced to nothing. Liang Chen's soul was special, his very existence had become special. A contract like this was no longer capable of even affecting him.

Xiao Ping also signed the contract, the elder rolling it up once she confirmed that both portions of energy had left the scroll.

"Then with this, I declare that Rahu's Judgment has been sanctioned and wish both the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince luck."

The elders stepped back once the start was declared, moving beyond the boundary of the totems. Liang Chen gave Yan Ling and the others a glance, and they left the stage under Yan Ling's guidance. Sheng Liang was carrying the infant Ao Fentian while Yan Ling held onto little Lan Yun's hand, Yumao curled up on the small child's head. There wasn't a trace of worry on any of their faces as they left the boundary of the totems.

"And thus, it was just us."

Xiao Ping spoke again as the two slowly made their way over to their positions. There was a few hundred meters between them when they were done, but to people like them a distance like this was hardly anything, they could still hear each other even if they whispered.

Xiao Ping opened her hand, a gleaming black light flashing in her palm as a long halberd formed in her grasp. Liang Chen could feel it from here, this was a weapon formed through a Bloodwind Code. He himself had used one such weapon in the past so he knew just how sturdy and sharp they were. And since Xiao Ping was pretty talented she had probably received a rank on the Bloodwind Multiverse List, meaning that she had opened at least one of the weapon's special abilities.

"Your spear, take it out."

She brandished the weapon as she bent her knees slightly, taking on her stance. She could technically attack right now, the duel only stipulated that you were allowed five attacks, not when you had to make them. But she did not want to just launch attacks straight away before Liang Chen was even ready. But when it came to his weapon…

"It broke. You'll have to settle for this."

Liang Chen grasped at the air as he spoke, the air hardening before it formed a spear in his grasp, blood-red lightning crackling within it. Well, just saying that the air hardened wasn't quite right, time itself had frozen under Liang Chen's grasp, forming a weapon that should be unbreakable as long as it didn't encounter a stronger power.

Once upon a time, Liang Chen too had a Bloodwind Code that could form a weapon for him, but after his recent metamorphosis it had been erased from existence. So far it hadn't been a problem, but that was mainly because Liang Chen hadn't done much fighting since then. Once he started fighting strong people again, especially people on his own level, a weapon like this one wouldn't be enough. 

"… Very well. Then I will make the first move."

Xiao Ping did not say much, she certainly wouldn't spout anything about feeling offended that he didn't use a proper weapon. She could feel the pure laws in that spear, the strength of the law of time that suffused it. And that blood-red lightning… It filled her with a certain sense of dread.

"I have inherited the bloodline of my parents, thus I have been privileged enough to be allowed to learn the Dragon King's Three Steps. Each step will double the power of the attack, stacking multiplicatively as you go up, I'm sure you have memories of the same technique."

Rather than attack, Xiao Ping chose to talk, explaining things that he already knew to Liang Chen. He indeed knew of that technique, it was one of his trump cards, and he had even improved on it whenever he got the chance, he was aiming for a total of ten steps. But could only he improve on it?

"Using the knowledge we have gained over the years, and my own unyielding training, I have taken the technique even further. Progress is slow, but undeniable. I have moved past the normal three steps and have thus taken to calling it the Dragon Empress' Fangs. For these five moves, I will go through them one by one, so each following attack will be many magnitudes stronger than the first. Prepare yourself Liang Chen, and defend properly. I do not wish to kill you."

She was a good kid. She was indeed brash, but Liang Chen could not bring himself to hate her. She was very angry, but her love for her citizens burned brighter, her fear that anything might happen to them overshadowed her anger. She was very proud, but she hadn't done anything worthy of death, she just used her pride to serve as an example. She was proud, so she had to be better.

Brash, fairly annoying and tiresome, but not a bad kid.

"Here I come."

She properly announced the start and kicked off of the ground, shooting forward like a blur. Liang Chen could feel her Qi swell as she activated her technique, it was indeed in line with the Dragon King's First Step. She used her Qi, but not her law, probably unwilling to accidentally harm Liang Chen greatly in case he wasn't taking things seriously.

And at a glance, it truly felt as if he wasn't taking it seriously. He wasn't brandishing his spear, he wasn't unleashing any Qi, he was just standing there, looking at her.

Yes, he was just looking at the blur that she had become. 

When was the last time Liang Chen had fought properly? He fought with his life on the line to acquire Purgatory, pouring out everything he had. But then he had absorbed that ancient authority and digested it for several years, all the while also getting accustomed to his own new existence.

He hadn't fought properly since that day he acquired Purgatory. The man he fought at that time, Lao Ye, was at the late stage of the Transcended Immortal rank and deemed an Emperor by the Bloodwind Code, he was someone who could contend with Sovereign Gods, certainly even killing some of the weaker ones. And that very Lao Ye had been killed by Liang Chen, who had only grown stronger since then.

That was why Liang Chen was just looking at the approaching Xiao Ping. He didn't know exactly how strong he had become, but he didn't feel an ounce of anxiety when he faced her, not a shred of fear. 

And he could see her.

As she shot forward, empowered by her technique, barely a blur to the world, he could see her. As clear as day, as slow as a breeze, he could see her. Liang Chen was fast. He had many strengths in combat, but his speed was easily one of his greatest. And that terrifying strength of his only grew greater and greater. All until it reached this point.

When her halberd shot forward, the sharp tip at the end trying to impale him, he only had to barely twist his torso to let the weapon pass right by him. His hand reached out at the same time, feeling as slow as when you went for a handshake. 

But it reached Xiao Ping's face before she could even blink, before she could even think to pull out the Qi within her to block. His palm touched her nose and his fingers curled around her face, clutching it as he put strength into his arm.

Xiao Ping's head was pushed back until her feet got ahead of her, practically leaving her horizontal in the air. And then Liang Chen pushed down, slamming her skull into the stone stage and kicking up a cloud of dust.

It took less than a handful of seconds, appearing almost instantaneous. But Xiao Ping's attack had been dodged and her head had been slammed into the stone stage, which surprisingly remained intact despite the impact.

Thus, begun the duel between estranged siblings, both of them left with four moves.