Chapter 15: The Three of You Fight to the Death, and I Reap the Spoils

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“Senior Brother, wouldn’t it be too cruel to kill it?” The younger disciple’s voice held a trace of reluctance. After all, the rabbit looked no different from an ordinary wild beast, save that it had mutated while guarding the ganoderma.

“It’s a demonic beast. Kill it, and be done with it.” The elder disciple’s tone was calm, as though he were speaking of the most ordinary matter. “In the cultivation world, the strong prey upon the weak. That is an unchanging law. If we do not strike first, it may be the one—or some other demonic beast—to injure us.”

“Come now, Junior Brother. Don’t let compassion make you soft.” The elder disciple patted the younger man on the shoulder, trying to steel his resolve. “Besides, we are not the only ones who know the ganoderma has appeared. The longer we delay, the more likely something will go wrong. We must act quickly.”

Hidden in the darkness, Yun Yi listened to their exchange, his heart filled with conflicting emotions.

He understood that in this cultivation world, strength determined everything. Compassion was often nothing more than a burden.

Yet when he looked at the mutated rabbit, a trace of pity still rose within him.

But pity was one thing, and reality another. Yun Yi knew that he was merely an insignificant existence, incapable of changing the cruel laws of this world.

All he could do was conceal himself more tightly, as inconspicuous as a mote of dust, and quietly observe how events unfolded.

Suddenly, the shrill sound of flesh exploding tore through the surrounding silence.

It crashed beside Yun Yi’s ears like a thunderclap, instantly turning his expression solemn.

He followed the sound and saw that the rabbit, which had been perfectly alive only moments before, had now become a pool of bloody pulp. The air reeked of blood.

Yun Yi’s heart tightened. He wanted to know who could have struck with such cruelty.

Before long, his gaze settled on the elder disciple.

The man was slowly sheathing his long sword. Several drops of bright red blood still clung to its tip, glaringly conspicuous.

“All right, Junior Brother. Go pick the ganoderma,” the elder disciple ordered, his voice carrying an unquestionable authority.

The younger disciple hesitated for a moment, but in the end he nodded. “Yes, Senior Brother.”

Just as he reached out to pluck the ganoderma, however, the sudden voice of a middle-aged man shattered the calm.

There was unmistakable authority and power in that voice. Clearly, he too had come for the ganoderma.

“Fellow Daoists, you two had better keep your hands off that ganoderma!”

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At those words, the elder and younger disciples instantly became wary.

They swiftly moved shoulder to shoulder, swords in hand, their gazes sharp as they prepared to face the coming challenge.

“Who’s there? How dare you try to seize something belonging to the Azure Sun Sword Manor!” The elder disciple’s voice exploded through the air like furious thunder, brimming with anger and resentment.

His eyes were wide, and the hand gripping his sword trembled faintly from the force he exerted. Clearly, this sudden provocation had infuriated him.

“Oh? The ganoderma hasn’t even reached your hands yet. How has it already become the property of the Azure Sun Sword Manor? Aren’t you shameless?” A mocking voice drifted from the darkness, laced with disdain and ridicule.

The voice seemed to possess a strange power, making the elder disciple’s expression even more somber.

“Enough with the theatrics. Show yourself!” the elder disciple roared. His voice echoed through the woods as he attempted to force his hidden opponent into the open.

“Why not? Who’s afraid of whom?”

Before the words had even faded, a deep and powerful figure strode out of the bushes.

He was a muscular middle-aged man wearing a sleeveless shirt, his eyes sharp as an eagle’s. An imposing aura radiated from him, one that was impossible to underestimate.

His appearance seemed to make the very air around them freeze.

Looking at the man’s body—far more powerfully built and heavily muscled than that of an ordinary cultivator—the elder disciple drew his brows tightly together, as though he could trap a leaf between them.

From a glance alone, he could tell that his opponent’s physical strength far surpassed that of ordinary people. Clearly, this was a warrior who had undergone rigorous tempering.

This opponent was no common adversary.

The elder disciple inhaled deeply, forcing down the shock and unease in his heart and making his voice sound as calm and authoritative as possible.

“What sect are you from? State your name. The Azure Sun Sword Manor does not kill nameless men.”

His words revealed unquestionable pride and confidence, but he could not conceal the vigilance in his eyes.

“Dragon-Tiger Sect.” The middle-aged man announced his sect without hesitation, his voice full of pride and strength.

The moment those three words were spoken, the elder disciple’s expression turned grave.

“What? You’re from the Dragon-Tiger Sect?” His voice carried a trace of disbelief.

He knew that the Dragon-Tiger Sect specialized in refining the physical body, and that its unique Dragon-Tiger Art was renowned far and wide.

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It was said that once one entered the path of cultivation, the body would become so terrifyingly strong that even sword cultivators famed for their overwhelming destructive power would struggle to break through its defenses.

At the thought of this, the elder disciple’s expression grew slightly unnatural. He realized that he might truly be in trouble this time.

Yet at that moment, the middle-aged man suddenly laughed, his laughter carrying a hint of mockery and provocation.

“What is it? Planning to leave, fellow Daoist? If you’re afraid, you can still depart now. That way, you won’t lose your life later.”

The elder disciple’s face darkened like stagnant water. He keenly sensed that his opponent had already seen through the slight wavering in his heart.

Even so, he could not give up so easily.

This ganoderma was the key to breaking through his cultivation bottleneck, and his future path of cultivation depended upon it.

Besides, his Junior Brother stood beside him. The two of them fighting together might not be without a chance.

With that thought, the elder disciple instinctively turned toward his companion. The younger disciple’s eyes likewise gleamed with resolve and defiance, and he gave a slight nod in support.

That unspoken understanding was like an invisible bond, binding the two of them tightly together.

The elder disciple drew a deep breath and tightened his grip on his long sword. Its tip trembled faintly, betraying the excitement and determination that came before battle.

Straightening his back, he said in an unequivocal tone, “Leave? Hmph. We were the ones who discovered the ganoderma first. If anyone should leave, it is you!”

His voice rang out like a great bell through the silent valley, every word revealing the pride and indomitable spirit of a disciple of the Azure Sun Sword Manor.

In that voice was an unyielding determination to claim the ganoderma—and an utter fearlessness in the face of challenge.

Hidden in the dense grass, Yun Yi watched the scene unfold, and an unexpected delight stirred within him.

Greed glimmered in his eyes as he muttered under his breath, “Ha! It seems the three of them really are about to tear each other apart. If they all end up dead, with their souls scattered and their cultivation destroyed, won’t that precious ganoderma become mine for the taking?”