The moment he reached the top of the cliff, after evading several vines, he suddenly faced a bright edge aiming straight for his neck. He managed to throw himself on the ground, just in time to evade the wave of sword energy.
"In the dirt again, exactly where you belong, younger brother. Where did you think you were going?" he heard a familiar voice. What was this bastard doing here? With a quick glance, he checked on his mother and the maid. Their clothes had become a little dirty, but they were unharmed otherwise.
In front of him, his azure robes slightly disheveled and damaged, stood a man who had haunted him ever since their childhood. In his hand was a slender blade, exactly the one that had just aimed for his neck.
"Fifth Brother, what is the meaning of this?" he exclaimed, incensed, despite knowing exactly what this was. Fishing in troubled waters, although it was hard to believe that his brother hated him this much, he chose to ignore the current situation and aim for his life.
"It is exactly what it looks like. I'm using his heaven-sent opportunity to get rid of some thorns in my side," he said with a crazed smile, licking the slender blade that glinted in the light of the city below.
"To think I had to tolerate calling such an untalented wretch as my brother. Today I will cleanse our family from your blood," he added, with a meaningful glance at his mother. Was this the plan from the start? Had he already been aiming for his and his mother's lives since they met outside the palace?
"Little Fifth..." his mother gasped in shock, tears in her eyes. No wonder, after all, the bastard had always played nice in front of her. He would only torture him behind the backs of the adults. Whenever he was caught, the great prodigy never faced any severe punishment, if any at all.
"Hah! I can finally get rid of you, disgusting wench. How dare the daughter of a lowly merchant family hold her head up high in the presence of the Yi Family of the Shadow Mountain Association? Just because father had a fleeting fancy for you," his voice was seething.
The seventh gripped his own blade tighter. How much he wished he could strike down this bastard, but the reality he had to face was that he was too weak. The Fifth had long since reached the Nascent Soul Realm. The fact that he was even able to evade earlier was because the Fifth was playing with him.
"While father and the elders are busy with the tree, nobody will come to-"
"Solar Spear!" A call and the sudden ignition of a bright light in the darkness interrupted the fifth brother. The next moment, a pole of pure light, emitting a terrible heat, impaled the Nascent Soul Realm Fiend straight through the chest and nailed him to the rocky ground.
Appearing on a giant dragonfly was an armored bull. They were floating in the air above, holding an exotic, curved blade resembling a lightning bolt in their hand.
"How did a lv. 115 guy get this far from the city? He must have some kind of stealth skill," they mumbled to themselves. The voice made clear that they were the ones who had fired this unknown technique.
"You dirty beast! How dare you attack the Fifth Young Master of the Shadow Mountain association!" Arrogance pushed through the pain. A stake through the chest could kill an expert of his level.
Maybe the burning robes were a greater concern than his wounded body. The fifth brother grabbed onto the stake of light, the flesh of his hands immediately sizzling and burning, but he managed to pull it from the ground, so he was at least able to move.
"I will kill you first and-!" Brandishing his blade, the Fifth was about to let out another threat when the bull jumped down from his dragonfly mount, taking a weird posture in the air. It was as if the fifth was suddenly unable to react when the armor bull fell toward him and struck the top of his skull with his elbow.
There was an audible crack, and the fifth brother collapsed on the floor like a sack of loose potatoes. The Seventh gasped. The bull had taken out the menace who had haunted him his whole life, a mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator, with a single move.
"Calling me a beast, stupid bastard," the bull mumbled as he pulled out a small silver dagger. The simple-looking knife stabbed the Fifth abdomen in a small, effective, almost graceful movement, and all signs of his brother vanished.
The life of a Nascent Soul Expert, blown out like a candle. Whisked away with a single, casual movement. Just like that, the man who had oppressed him all his life simply died in front of his eyes, and he couldn't make out how he felt.
It wasn't like he had ever resolved himself to take revenge, so it was not that his target for revenge was suddenly gone. But he also didn't feel relieved or happy that this obstacle in his life had so easily disappeared.
That this was not the time to explore his feelings. He realized when the eyes of the bull who just ended the Fifth looked at him. His eyes wandered over him, his mother, the maid, and toward the edge, where the rest of their guards climbed up.
This creature just ended a man several times stronger without breaking a sweat, and the Seventh was almost convinced it was also involved with the tree wreaking havoc. If they really decided to end him and his mother, there was nothing he could do about it. However-
"Go on. See if you can reach the edge of the crown. If you make it out, tell the world that this is the punishment for those who messed with Urth, or Verdant Twilight as you call it," the bull said, putting his weapon away and stepping aside.
The seventh only hesitated for a moment before grasping the chance for mercy. He gave the bull a bow before grabbing the two women and starting to run again. The attacks of vines became more aggressive as they got closer to the edge, and the young master had to slow down to defend himself and the women, as he waited for the guards to reach them.
With their help, the whole group ultimately managed to escape the cover of the giant tree that had taken hold of Shadow Mountain. When he talked to the guard later, he found that the bull was already gone by the time they managed to scale the cliff.
Looking back now, after making considerable distance, they could make out the giant tree under the waxing moon's light. Gently shivering in the wind was a dome of green leaves that covered the caldera of Shadow Mountain.
Bright lights constantly sparked somewhere below its crown, and they heard the distant noise of battle. These were probably the people of the association, like his father and the elders, trying to battle the tree that had destroyed their headquarters and taken over the city.
Again, he couldn't quite discern how he felt. His father was facing certain death, and so did pretty much anyone he knew in his life, but apart from his mother and the servant, he didn't really hold an attachment to these older men who would look at him with apathy at best. Nothing lost there.
He could only hope the servant could make it out. It was a little hope, seeing how the vines mostly targeted people with cultivation. He was not sure whether this was true, as he didn't quite have the time to pay attention, but he wanted to believe so.
"Little Hong, are you okay?" his mother asked, holding onto his arm.
"Yes, mother, how about you?" he asked, calming his breathing.
"I'm okay, don't underestimate your mother," she said confidently. She was a cultivator in the middle of foundation establishment; however, what he meant was her mental state. The seventh had just tried to kill them, and the association was done for.
"That's not what I meant..."
"Mother knows, I meant what I said. It's okay. We can go look for my family for the time being. I'm sure your uncle will be happy about a visit," she said with a brave smile. Yi Hong could help but doubt the facade, but decided to play along.
"Yes, let's go visit uncle."