Senior Brother

"I am Liu Xiaochen, head disciple of Xuanyan Sect."

Upon hearing these words, Wang Jingyuan immediately perked up. Her eyes locked on the handsome young man standing on the stage. He was in his twenties, with dark, bold eyebrows over piercing dark brown eyes. His features were in perfect proportions, though he looked a little cold and unapproachable, reminding Wang Jingyuan vaguely of Shao Wenbo. Two long strands of hair hung down from either side of his face, while the rest of his black hair fell like a waterfall behind his back.

He wore a simple black headpiece in his hair and a large black outer coat over a white hanfu. The crossed collars, belt, and edges of his wide sleeves were decorated with dark crimson flames. He stood there, tall and unafraid on the stage, gripping a sword in his left hand. An aura of justice and power emitted from him. Wang Jingyuan knew without a doubt that this was the senior brother of Xuanyan Sect.

"That's my senior brother!" she whispered to Mo Xian as she stood up. Mo Xian grabbed her arm and pulled her down.

"What are you doing? You can't go down there!"

"Why? That's my senior brother! I found him!"

"You can't go down there right now. He's going to fight Lu Haodong. You have to wait until after the round." Mo Xian kept his hand on Wang Jingyuan's arm in case she tried to bolt again. "Besides, look at all the sects—they look like they want to swarm up there and fight him. It's unsafe."

It wasn't just Wang Jingyuan who was jolted to attention. The crowd was in an uproar:

"Xuanyan Sect?! Wasn't Xuanyan Sect wiped out?"

"He said he's Liu Xiaochen! As in, Luo Qingye's head disciple Liu Xiaochen!"

"How is he here? He didn't die?"

The pupils in all the sects, including the chiefs, stood up in shock. Ye Xiaoyao closed his fan with a snap. "Chief Zhong, you participated in the attack on Xuanyan Sect. Was Liu Xiaochen there that night?"

Zhong Zhengran's expression was solemn and grim. "No," he finally said. "I don't recall seeing him."

"Oh? I don't either. Now this is interesting." Ye Xiaoyao tapped his fan to his palm thoughtfully. "Is he here for revenge? By himself?"

"That would be stupid and suicidal. No matter how good he is, he is still only one person." Zhong Zhengran's gaze never left the young man.

Meanwhile, on stage, Lu Haodong was so surprised he took a step back. "Liu Xiaochen? Why are you here?"

"Why can't I be here?" Liu Xiaochen's deep voice was layered with anger. "The sects murder my sect brothers and sisters, kill my mentor, burn my sect—and you expect me to not come for justice?"

Lu Haodong gave a short bark of laughter. "Justice? Liu Xiaochen, your mentor was in the wrong. He killed all those chiefs and thought he could just get away with it? Please. Don't be so stupid. We were simply taking our justice—by wiping out Xuanyan Sect."

He stepped closer to Liu Xiaochen and glared up at him. "Why did you even show up today? If you were so lucky to get away the first time, you should just hide in a hole and never show your face in the martial arts sector again. By coming here, you are looking for death. Do you want to join your mentor and sect brothers and sisters in the afterlife that badly? Because I can grant you that wish."

Wang Jingyuan was pissed. So was Liu Xiaochen. His hand gripped the hilt of his sword so hard his knuckles were creaking. "I would watch your mouth if I were you. Don't say big words if you're going to regret them later."

"Regret them? Ha! I'm not afraid of you, Liu Xiaochen. With the five major sects and the entire martial arts sector here watching, you won't escape today." Lu Haodong unsheathed his short sword and threw the sheath aside.

Liu Xiaochen unsheathed his sword as well. The long double-edged blade emerged into the air, gleaming coldly, and Wang Jingyuan seemed to hear a dragon's mighty roar. There was some sort of decoration on his sword, kind of like the phoenix on Wang Jingyuan's, but from this distance she couldn't tell what it was.

Before Liu Xiaochen had stepped into his beginning stance, Lu Haodong charged with a shout. Liu Xiaochen sidestepped the first attack easily; his sword sliced toward Lu Haodong's exposed back. Sensing danger, Lu Haodong leapt out of the way and spun back to face Liu Xiaochen. His short sword once again stabbed towards Liu Xiaochen, this time aiming for Liu Xiaochen's throat. With a clang, Liu Xiaochen parried the stab as he cut his sword upwards. At the same time, he aimed a roundhouse kick at Lu Haodong, who narrowly avoided being kicked.

Wang Jingyuan followed Liu Xiaochen's every move. She watched as he executed the moves she had learned in a few short days and couldn't help but admire him from the bottom of her heart. Liu Xiaochen was really good. Every move was perfection; every cut, every slice, every stab was calculated, measured, and crisp, as it should be.

Wang Jingyuan followed along, her right hand forming a loose fist as if she was holding her sword. She still wore her hand brace, but her wrist was basically healed. Besides still hurting if she bent it too much or too far, she was able to use her right hand as usual. Still, Wang Jingyuan hadn't used her sword in the past two weeks in fear of making her condition worse.

"Song of the Phoenix!" Someone shouted. "Liu Xiaochen is using Song of the Phoenix!"

Every pair of eyes focused on Liu Xiaochen as he morphed the Xuanyan Sword Skills that he was using into the Song of the Phoenix. This was the secret martial arts skill that everyone wanted. This was the set of skills that the sects were willing to kill for. This was the reason why the conflict started, six years ago, when blood spilled across the Hero Assembly's stage.

And now, six years later, it was being showcased once again on the stage of the Hero Assembly.